Sony has announced that it will be discontinuing its PlayStation Now service on majority of compatible devices. The company said that it made the decision in order to focus on improving the service for the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC.
For the uninitiated, PlayStation Now is Sony’s subscription service that launched in 2014 (2016 for the PC). It allows users to stream games online from the cloud for $14.99 for 90-day rentals or for $19.99 a month. Sony typically adds new games to the service’s library every month.
The service was made available for the PS3, Vita, PlayStation TV, select Sony Bravia TVs, all of Sony’s Blu-ray players and select Samsung TV models. With Sony’s announcement earlier today however, that will soon no longer be the case.
Starting on Aug. 15, PlayStation Now services will only be available for the PS4 and Windows PC. “After thoughtful consideration, we decided to shift our focus and resources to PS4 and Windows PC to further develop and improve the user experience on these two devices,” PlayStation Now senior marketing manager Brian Dunn said on a blog post.
“This move puts us in the best position to grow the service even further. If you use any of the above devices, we want to give our heartfelt thanks for your support, and we hope you’ll continue with us.”
Dunn also reminded PlayStation Now customers that their cloud game saves will be accessible from the PS4 and Windows PC. For gamers on Sony Bravia TVs, they are advised to disable the auto-renewal subscription feature before April 1, while those on other devices should disable it before Aug. 15.
Sony hasn’t given out the specifics on how it plans to improve the PS Now experience for the PS4 and the PC, as pointed out by GameSpot. There really isn’t any apparent indication on how dropping support for other devices can improve the experience since it is a cloud-based service.