PlayStation Store
With a note published on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment warns that from 31 August 2021 it will no longer allow you to buy or rent movies and series / TV shows on the PlayStation Store.At Sony Interactive Entertainment we try to provide the best experience entertainment possible for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offering as our users' needs change. We have seen tremendous growth in the number of PlayStation fans using subscription-based streaming entertainment services on our consoles. Based on this change in user behavior, we have decided not to offer any more purchases and rentals of movies and TVs via the PlayStation Store as of August 31, 2021.
Sony specifies in any case that it will be possible to continue to access to the contents purchased before the date indicated, if you have purchased movies or TV series on the PlayStation Store you can therefore continue to play them on the PlayStation 4 and PS5, from 31 August it will not be possible to buy or rent new titles.
With this move Sony wants to make the PlayStation Blog more and more in line with the needs of the community, an evolution for many taken for granted if we think of the increasing popularity of apps for streaming movies, anime and TV series, at the expense of digital purchases and rentals.
PlayStation Store won’t let you buy or rent movies and TV shows after August 31st
If you prefer buying all your movies and TV shows on the PlayStation Store, you won’t be able to do that for much longer. In a blog post today, Sony announced that it is discontinuing those purchases on its digital store starting August 31st.
As for why, Sony cites the “tremendous growth” of entertainment consumed through subscription-based services and ad-based entertainment streaming services on the company’s PlayStation hardware.
Fortunately, Sony confirms that anyone who has purchased movie or TV content through the PS Store or plans to do so before August will still have access to that content after the changes go into effect, with on-demand playback available on PS4, PS5, and mobile devices.
This is not the first time Sony has removed less popular media from the PS Store. Last October, Sony said the revamped PS Store that arrived prior to the launch of the PS5 would no longer allow users to purchase older games and DLC released initially on the PS3 or the PSP and Vita handhelds, unless you were browsing the store from those devices.