PlayStation Store to Begin Shuttering on PS3 and PS Vita Starting This Year

PlayStation has announced its new plans to shut down the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita, starting in select markets this year. Globally, the online storefront will be shut down in July 2027.

In a PlayStation Blog post, the company confirms that the “PlayStation Store on PS3 will close in select markets starting this year, followed by global closures for PS3 and PS Vita next year.” Once these closures begin, users will no longer be able to make purchases from the PlayStation Store on those devices. “To ease the transition, players will still be able to download previously purchased content after the closing date for the foreseeable future,” PlayStation confirms.

Starting in August, the PlayStation Store will no longer be available on PS3 in Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. “Additional Latin American and Middle Eastern countries” will then begin to lose access on PS3 in “late 2026.” The final wave of closures will hit the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita globally in July 2027.

“We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” the blog post reads. “PS3 and PS Vita represent an important era in our PlayStation history, so this was not an easy decision for us to make.”

It’s worth noting that PlayStation attempted to shutter its PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita nearly five years ago. However, consumer backlash was so extensive that Sony recinded its plans to close the storefronts.

The PlayStation 3 launched in 2006, while the PS Vita, the last dedicated PlayStation handheld, debuted in 2011.