PlayStation to cut down on ‘spam’ games

A notice reportedly sent to PlayStation partner publishers has warned that developers who produce “spam” may be banned from the platform

The PlayStation Store is filled with low-effort “spam” games, which includes games that instantly unlock trophies. Photo: Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

Sony is reportedly starting to crack down on “spam” games on the PlayStation store, according to a new notice apparently sent to PlayStation publishing partners.

According to news site DEX.EXE, Sony has sent a notice to all publishing partners warning against flooding the storefront with what it calls “spam” games. The notice, which was reportedly sent to the news site courtesy of an anonymous source, warns that developers who publish “spam” or “repetitive” content may have their accounts suspended and their content pulled from the storefront.

The policy affects “products whose functionality and/or assets are copied or are not meaningfully different from products already published” and small, similar content experiences that could be aggregated into one product. It also specifically mentions games that are identical but provide different trophies, and games that do little more than provide trophies.

The PlayStation store, like many other digital storefronts selling games, can often attract low-effort games that some consider to be “shovelware” or spam. Often these games are based on pre-built assets or even open source game examples, and are sold for a low price. The low cost and time for development of these spam titles are usually offset by unsuspecting buyers who see a small price tag on the game and buy it on impulse.

While Steam Deck games are typically moderated, the Steam storefront as a whole is largely available for anyone to upload to. Picture: Valve

A quick trip to Steam, the Nintendo Switch eShop, or the PlayStation Store will show dozens of these games, made specifically to make a quick buck and in some cases on PlayStation, quickly farm platinum trophies. Platinum trophies are earned on PlayStation devices by clearing all other trophies, and in most cases are quite difficult or complex to obtain.

Policies such as the new one reported on by DEX.EXE should help a lot in cutting down on some of the more egregious examples of this “spam” behaviour.

In other PlayStation news, it was recently revealed that Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal for Call of Duty, should its $100b acquisition of publisher Activision Blizzard be successful. Microsoft is attempting to assuage fears that the deal could lead to less competition in the games space, as regulators around the world investigate the deal, who have so far focused largely on Call of Duty.

That said, Microsoft says that the deal isn’t “all about Call of Duty”, instead saying that most of the value of the deal comes from Activision Blizzard’s mobile assets. Candy Crush developer King, which is owned by Activision Blizzard after a 2016 merger, offers a unique opportunity to expand into the mobile space, according to Microsoft, which says mobile is where most of the growth in the games industry is happening.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.