One avenue of scoring easy PlayStation trophies has just been cut off. First reported by VGC, Afil Games, a studio in Brazil known for its seemingly low-effort, shovelware-type games, has said PlayStation is blocking the studio from releasing any more games on the platform. On X, the studio released a statement saying, “PlayStation has decided not to continue its partnership with Afil Games for future releases,” and that “our games will be removed from the PSN Store in the near future.”
Shovelware games have been a plague upon online gaming’s house for a while. The more heinous ones closely resemble more popular releases in an effort to trick inattentive consumers into buying them. Others, like the ones Afil Games make, are stuffed with easy-to-earn trophies or achievements, making them irresistible to the kind of gamer that likes to pad their gamerscore or trophy collection. Steam is notorious for this kind of activity and worse yet, doesn’t really seem interested in doing much about it. The other platforms weren’t either, until very recently. The Nintendo eShop changed the way it displays games to cut down on shovelware studios selling their games at steep discounts to rocket them up to the top of the bestseller list. Sony, too, has taken steps to crack down on similar behavior. As a result, Afil Games’ over 140 titles will be removed from the PlayStation Store.
While most gamers will break out their tiniest violins while they shed no tears over this development, I’m forced to ask: Is this necessarily a good thing? As long as a game is not designed to trick a buyer into thinking it’s something else, isn’t made with genAI, and plays as its screenshots and trailers advertise, what’s the harm in letting trophy hunters get their cheap fix? Perusing the prolific list of Afil’s games, nothing immediately jumped out as violating any of those standards. Keeping within those guidelines and making a game that didn’t take too much effort while still turning a profit sounds like good work if you can get it, especially now.