Every game from publisher ThiGamesDE has been removed from PlayStation Store, dropping a total of 1,194 games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. ThiGamesDE is primarily known for releasing shovelware games such as Quiz Thiz series a Jumping burgerwhich PlayStation players often use to get simple Platinum trophies on their account. The reason for their sudden disappearance from the PlayStation Store is unclear, but it may be related to Sony's recent partnership with Microsoft and Nintendo to make players more secure on those companies' platforms.
Sony is no stranger to unexpected game downloads from its platform on rare occasions. Games are often removed after their servers have been shut down, as was the infamous case Concord withdrawn from sale after only two weeks on the market. In other cases, games are removed because the license for the IP or other material in the game expires and the publisher refuses to renew it. However, it is not clear if this is the case with the ThiGamesDE library.
It's official: PS Plus Premium subscribers will have 9 new games to play on January 20th
PlayStation Plus subscribers who sign up for the highest tier of the service will soon have access to nine new games.
Publisher ThiGamesDE has had its entire library removed from the PlayStation Store
As reported by X user RobThanatos, the entire PlayStation ThiGamesDE library is no longer accessible from the PlayStation Store, with links to the game pages returning an error message. The German publisher had the 4th place with the most games released on the platform, just behind publishers eastasiasoft, Ratalaika Games and Webnetic. Gamers familiar with ThiGamesDE's library probably consider their titles shovelware, with most games being variations Quiz Thiz and Jumping burger series.
|
Publisher |
Number of games on the PlayStation Store |
|---|---|
|
eastasiasoft |
2018 |
|
Ratalaika games |
1,2,79 |
|
Webnetic |
1,222 |
|
ThiGamesDE |
1,194 |
Sony Interactive Entertainment only has the 11th most games released on its own platform.
While some PlayStation fans are reacting positively to the news and voicing their support for Sony to filter out content they consider undemanding, achievement hunters may be disappointed by the removal of the ThiGamesDE library from the storefront. The publisher's games were considered an easy way for PlayStation players to earn Platinum trophies and increase the prestige of their PlayStation account. It is unclear whether the removal of these games will affect the Platinum Trophies of players who earned them prior to their removal.
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft's recent joint commitment to gaming security may be responsible for this move
Although there is no explicit confirmation, it is likely that Sony's justification for removing the entire ThiGamesDE library from the PlayStation Store comes from the company's recent commitment to support user safety on its platform. Working with Microsoft and Nintendo, the three companies jointly released a statement outlining the effort and their plan to enforce stricter rules across each company's platforms. While this plan appears to be more focused on player safety in terms of what kind of content they can work with on each platform, the effect of this new policy appears to be a broader crackdown on what titles are allowed in storefronts.
It's possible that more shovelware publishers have titles pulled from the PlayStation Store as Sony moves to provide more careful interpretation to users under this new security policy. The Nintendo eShop is another platform that is notorious for being overloaded with shovelware games, so Nintendo may follow Sony's lead and crack down on those games as part of this partnership. Similarly, the Microsoft Store may see a purge of shovelware titles in the near future, although Xbox has generally done a better job of managing its offerings with services like Xbox Game Pass to streamline the delivery of high-quality titles to gamers on the platform.
