Sony is closing another PS4 feature next month as part of an ongoing update to the next-generation console.
The PlayStation Communities feature will be retired in April, according to an email sent to PlayStation 4 owners (via Siliconera). Communities allowed PS4 players with common interests to come together to play games, host parties, share screenshots and chat about topics related to their interests.
The discontinuation of the feature is not a big shock, as Sony closed the PlayStation Communities app in March last year, and the ability to create private parties was removed from the PS4 last year. In addition, the patch notes for the 8.5 beta update in progress for the PS4 apparently mentioned removing the feature (via MP1st).
It appears that removing Communities from PS4 may be the end of the PlayStation feature, as it is not offered on the new PS5 – and Sony has not mentioned any plans to bring the feature to the latest PlayStation.
But it’s not all bad news, as this new update also brings some improvements in quality of life, such as the ability to disable notifications for specific groups that you belong to.
Another bites the dust
This is the second feature of the PS4 that we saw Sony remove recently. Earlier this month, the company announced that users will no longer be able to rent or buy movies or TV shows on PlayStation Store when using a PS5, PS4 or PS4 Pro.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony pointed to the “tremendous growth of PlayStation fans using subscription-based entertainment services and advertisements on our consoles” as the reason behind this decision.
Sony said the change will take effect on August 31, 2021 and that users can still access the movie and TV content they purchased from PlayStation Store for playback on demand.
While we don’t expect Sony to stop supporting the PS4 anytime soon, it looks like the company is slowing down all the features of the PlayStation 4 that it thinks are not essential.