Sony has announced that it's ending support for its PS3 and PlayStation Vita stores globally in 2027. In select markets, support will end later this year.

In a blog post released on the official PlayStation website, it is announced that digital purchases will no longer be possible on these platforms in the near future, though games already purchased will continue to be downloadable for the foreseeable future.

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The post reads: "As the PlayStation Store continues to evolve to support modern commerce systems, including updated payment processing standards, PS3 and PS Vita are no longer able to support these updates at the level required. As a result, we will need to close [the] PlayStation Store on these devices."

Both digital stores will be disabled in Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua in August of this year. The remaining Latin American countries in addition to Middle Eastern countries will see support end in late 2026, while globally PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita store support will end in July 2027.

The post describes this move as "not an easy decision" to make, and goes on to justify the move with the following: "As we continue to expand the PlayStation experience on newer devices that most of our users are playing on today, we need to focus more resources on delivering the best gaming experiences on these platforms as we look ahead towards the future."

Back in 2021, Sony walked back plans to take down these stores following fan outrage. PlayStation boss at-the-time Jim Ryan said in a statement: "it's clear that we made the wrong decision here".

This is a loud claxon announcing dire tidings for the physical games market, something that already has been gradually phased out over the past few years. It comes soon after Rockstar and Take Two announced GTA6 physical copies would not include a physical disc.