Katarzyna Petru
Sony is once again igniting the internet, and not in a positive way. Recent reports from PlayStation players have caused a real stir — we're talking about one of the most popular indie games in history, Stardew Valley, which... has started disappearing from users' accounts. And without their involvement.
“Refund accepted.” The problem is that no one returned anything
Some players who purchased Stardew Valley digitally—often years ago, some even through cross-buy—recently received emails with information about a supposed request for a refund. Sounds like a classic mistake? Well, the consequences are much more serious.
Upon logging into their accounts, players discover that:
their purchased copy of the game has disappeared,
it has been replaced by a version marked as associated with PlayStation Plus,
in their library, it is no longer visible as “owned”.
The worst part? No one refunded anything. Sony somehow “decided” that this was the case—and took away the game that people paid for.
PS Vita is holding up well, but only because the game was downloaded earlier
Interesting thread: the version for PS Vita in many cases… still works. If it was ever downloaded, you can launch it without a problem. But does that mean new purchases have been blocked? For now, no one can confirm this — it seems more like the effect of a prior installation than real availability. Players rightly ask: how is it possible that a physically downloaded game works, but its “rights” on the account suddenly disappear?
“Absurd.” “Chaos.” “Disrespect for buyers.” The internet is leaving no stone unturned on Sony
A storm has erupted on Reddit and X. Many are calling the situation absurd, others — unfair. Especially since comparisons with other platforms are devastating for Sony. Example? Xbox users remind that titles from the former Games with Gold are theirs forever — even if the program has long ceased to exist.
On PlayStation, however, players often:
lose access to a game they bought,
see it as assigned to PS Plus,
and after the subscription expires, are left with nothing.
And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg
For some time now, there has been another annoying issue in the PlayStation ecosystem: if you have a game as part of PS Plus Extra, you cannot purchase another version of it — even if it's a premium edition, expanded, or with add-ons.
Example? Returnal. Players wanted to buy a better edition, but… they couldn’t. The system determined that since they have it in PS Plus, then “why bother.” The situation with Stardew Valley only deepens the impression that the chaos in managing digital licenses on PlayStation has gotten out of control.
What will Sony do about this?
Sony is officially silent. Players are waiting for explanations, and the pressure is increasing with each passing hour. If the company does not quickly resolve the situation and restore legally purchased games to users, this crisis could be one of the most serious in PlayStation's history in terms of trust in digital purchases.
