PlayStation is preparing to remove one of its own exclusive games from sale on the PlayStation Store for reasons that haven’t been made clear. From time to time, various games get delisted from the PS Store, Steam, and other digital marketplaces. More often than not, these delistings happen as a result of licensing agreements that have since come to an end, resulting in games no longer being able to be sold. Titles like Minecraft: Story Mode, Deadpool, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Transformers: War for Cybertron are just a few titles that have gone away in this manner previously. Now, PlayStation is set to make a move of its own in this regard, although its reason for doing so seems to be far different.
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Announced in a post on social media today, PlayStation informed fans that LittleBigPlanet 3 is set to be taken off of the PS Store at the end of October. Released back in 2014 across PS4 and PS3, LittleBigPlanet 3 is the most recent mainline entry in the famed platforming franchise. It was later followed by Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which happened to be more of a traditional 3D platformer when compared to the other LittleBigPlanet titles. In addition to delisting LittleBigPlanet 3 itself, PlayStation also warned that all of the game’s accompanying DLC will be vanishing as well. As for the purpose behind this move, a specific reason was not given.
“After 10 years of playing, creating, and sharing content in LittleBigPlanet 3, the game and our entire range of LittleBigPlanet DLC will be removed from the PlayStation Store on October 31, 2024,” PlayStation said. “Anyone that currently owns or purchases LittleBigPlanet 3 or any LittleBigPlanet DLC before it is delisted for sale, will still be able to access their purchased games and content after its removal.”
“This is a friendly heads-up that anyone in the community or any newcomers [who] still wish to own a digital copy of LittleBigPlanet 3 or any LittleBigPlanet DLC currently available for purchase – this is your last chance to do so!” the message continued. “Thank you for your continued support and understanding.”
Why Is LittleBigPlanet 3 Being Delisted?
The odd part of LittleBigPlanet 3 being taken off of the PlayStation Store is that seemingly has nothing to do with licensing. Since this is an exclusive game directly from PlayStation, it stands to reason that Sony could continue to sell it in perpetuity for as long as it wants. Instead, the delisting likely has more to do with recent issues tied to LBP 3 rather than anything associated with expired licenses.
Earlier this year, LittleBigPlanet 3’s servers were taken offline in an indefinite capacity. In doing so, this eliminated all of the game’s player-created content from being accessible. While some fans hoped that PlayStation would eventually find a solution to problems that had plagued the title, it looks like this won’t be happening as Sony is now just opting to remove LBP 3 from sale as a whole.
This move is particularly heartbreaking as LittleBigPlanet 3 also encompassed all user-created levels that were built on the first two entries in the series as well. By refusing to get the servers back up and running, Sony is essentially killing off one of its most beloved games from the PS3 era. It’s also yet another blow to developer Media Molecule, which pulled the plug on ongoing content for Dreams in 2023.
Even though LittleBigPlanet 3 doesn’t feature any online levels to play, there still is a number of Story Mode levels that can be played either solo or with a friend in couch co-op. This combined with the game’s creation tools still being accessible means that stages can still be built in LittleBigPlanet 3, they’ll just never be uploaded to the internet.
