The PlayStation Store will discontinue movie and TV rentals and purchases from 31st August 2021, Sony has announced on its PlayStation Blog.
PS5, PS4 and mobile device owners can continue to access the content they've already purchased after 31st August, so it's not like Sony is pulling the plug right away. But as of September, it seems that Sony's PlayStation department will be focusing all its efforts on gaming.
"We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles," said Vanessa Lee, Sony Head of Video Business, SIE. "With this shift in customer behaviour, we have decided to no longer offer movie and TV purchases and rentals through PlayStation Store as of August 31, 2021."
The development follows Sony's October 2019 statement announcing that it would shut down its PlayStation Vue streaming television service. On a brighter note, major movie streaming apps – including Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, BT Sport, Hulu and HBO Max – will continue to be available on PlayStation devices, meaning they will still, to a large extent, serve as entertainment centres as well as gaming machines – as they have done since the 2009-released PS3.
Sony's next-gen games console might be in short supply (here's where to find a PS5, if you're struggling), but it has already greatly boosted the company's profits. Sony says it has sold 4.5million units, helping its gaming business make £6.1billion in 2020, an increase of 40 per cent over 2019.
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