Webnetic, a video game developer and publisher that some players have come to associate with shovelware, appears to no longer have an active publishing agreement with the PlayStation Store, and the change may be part of a growing trend. The PlayStation Store originally launched in 2006 alongside the PlayStation 3, and in the years since, it has grown into one of the industry’s largest digital marketplaces. As gamers and publishers turned increasingly to digital games with the PS4 and PS5 generations, the storefront has likewise expanded and now includes offerings from publishers of all sizes.
Though this growth has provided opportunities for smaller developers to reach players, it’s also contributed to a steady increase in low-cost, and many would say low-effort, releases that usually cost only a few bucks. Games of this type, commonly referred to as shovelware, are often released in large quantities, may feature minimal gameplay and reused assets, or include achievement-focused designs that attract trophy hunters. The sheer number of these titles can make it difficult for gamers to find releases they’d actually like to play. While similar concerns affect other digital marketplaces like Steam, the Nintendo eShop, and mobile app stores, Sony has acknowledged a need to improve the PS Store experience.
PlayStation First-Party Game Sales Were In Decline for 5 Straight Years
Sales data for first-party PlayStation games show a downward trend for the company over the past five years, dating back to the PS5’s launch.
The PlayStation Store May Be Cracking Down on Low-Effort Games
Now it appears that Sony may be taking significant steps to address the shovelware issue. Recently, video game developer and publisher Webnetic revealed on Twitter that its games would no longer be available on PlayStation. This has led to speculation among players and online communities that Sony may have terminated its agreement with the publisher. PlayStation Lifestyle estimates that Webnetic has thousands of listings on the PS Store, and it’s expected that these will soon be delisted. Communities on Reddit and PSNProfiles have also identified other developers/publishers that appear to have been impacted, including Violarte, SimulaMaker, and West Connection. Together, these companies are associated with a massive number of store listings across multiple regions.
Though Sony has not publicly announced a formal storefront purge, this apparent crackdown follows recent action against another company called Testagamecreations, which had become known within the PlayStation community for releasing questionable titles. According to PlayStation Lifestyle, at least 12 of that publisher’s games were removed from the storefront at the end of May, many of which had noticeable similarities with more popular releases. If the reported removals continue at the current scale, they could represent a notable effort on Sony’s part to moderate the content available on its gaming storefront. For years, players have been giving feedback about content quality, low-effort releases, and even scams that frequently clog up recommendation feeds and sales promotions.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
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Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
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Generally, the response from players to the removal of these companies seems to be positive. Though some people seem disappointed at the loss of an opportunity to earn easy trophies, and it’s important to remember that some people actually enjoy playing the removed titles, many gamers have openly expressed excitement. Some are hoping that recent events represent what will become a broader effort to improve storefront quality and make legitimate releases easier to find. The situation does highlight the need to balance quality control with accessibility for developers, and it may seem more prudent to let low-quality or copycat publishers and developers remain on the PS Store than accidentally remove a developer’s genuine work.