A Major PlayStation Game Is Being Shut Down (And It Has Me Worried)

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It used to be unusual for a game to be removed from digital stores or become unplayable after a short time. But today, with so many online games relying on expensive servers, and with studios frequently closing or downsizing, it’s becoming common. We’ve seen examples like Concord, a game backed by PlayStation that was removed from sale after only two weeks, and online games shutting down faster than independent films leave theaters. Many popular multiplayer games gradually lose players until they eventually disappear completely.

It’s disheartening to see a popular live service game facing closure. While the reasons are unique to this situation, it represents a worrying trend: players are losing access to games they’ve spent significant money on, and don’t truly own. The potential shutdown of Genshin Impact feels like a sign of things to come, and I’m concerned this will increasingly impact fans of these types of games.

Genshin Impact Is Being Shut Down On PlayStation 4

In 2025, miHoYo announced that Genshin Impact would no longer be available on PlayStation 4, and eventually become unplayable on the console. As promised, the game was removed from the PlayStation Store on September 10, 2025, and in-game purchases stopped on February 25, 2026. On April 8, 2026, the game will be completely shut down on PS4, meaning players on that system will lose access unless they upgrade to a PS5 or switch to a different platform—which could cost hundreds of dollars.

Even now, a significant number of people still play on PlayStation 4. As of 2024, around 49 million people were actively using PS4, which was the same number as those playing on the newer PS5. Sony reported in 2025 that the PS5 finally surpassed the PS4 in active users, but didn’t share the exact difference. While the PS5 is now more popular, many gamers continue to use, and possibly only use, their PlayStation 4.

In 2020, players who mainly used their PS4 for online games didn’t have a strong incentive to upgrade. These games continued to work and receive support on the PS4, and Sony didn’t offer compelling reasons to spend $500 on a new console that didn’t offer much improvement. This is important because a large number of Genshin Impact players will soon lose access to the game, and they’ll have to spend a significant amount of money to continue playing it.

It’s also important to remember that players have likely spent a good amount of money on Genshin Impact, and now they won’t be able to enjoy what they paid for unless they spend even more. While Genshin Impact is free on mobile, it needs a fairly new phone to run well, and many people probably don’t have one, as those phones are expensive. I’m not even upset that Genshin Impact is ending support for PS4; it was always a likely outcome. It simply highlights the fact that modern video games aren’t permanent, something we’ve always known would happen.

Genshin Impact Shutting Down On PlayStation Is A Sign Of Things To Come

The live service game landscape has been incredibly turbulent. Most games launched in 2025 have seen a massive drop in players – around 90% – and several high-profile titles like XDefiant, MultiVersus, and Anthem have been shut down completely. Many games also stopped being supported on older consoles, and others, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, lost developer support altogether. The MMO Ashes of Creation quickly faded away, and Amazon’s New World was even removed from sale in early 2026. Beyond these examples, the $400 million failure of Concord stands out, along with PlayStation cancelling its live service plans and major layoffs and project cancellations at companies like Bluepoint Studios, EA, Ubisoft, and Xbox.

We’re living in a time where games can receive massive investments – reportedly up to $400 million – only to be shut down after just a couple of weeks. Concord isn’t the first live service game to fail so quickly; this has been happening more and more often, with games like Babylon’s Fall setting the stage for the struggles of this genre. Honestly, with so many games available, this market was bound to collapse eventually. Players simply don’t have the time or money to keep up with the constant stream of new releases, no matter how good they are. There are only so many hours in the day, and hundreds of new live service games competing for our attention meant many wouldn’t succeed.

The issue is that we’re spending real money on games that aren’t designed to last, and the recent shutdown of Genshin Impact on PS4 is a perfect example. We’re essentially gambling that these new online games will stay running long enough for our purchases to feel worth it. You could spend a lot of money on a game, but it all disappears when the servers are shut down – and they always are. Whether it’s because supporting older consoles becomes too expensive or the developers lose interest, these games aren’t built for the long haul. They don’t offer offline play to keep them going; they’re intentionally designed to have a limited lifespan.

The Real Cost Of Live Service Games Is Hurting Players

Even if Genshin Impact stays popular, it will always require players to upgrade to new consoles as they come out. This means the cost of playing isn’t just the small purchases within the game – you’ll also need to buy a new console every few years to keep playing, effectively turning it into a $500 game. This is different from older games simply becoming unplayable on newer consoles due to a lack of backwards compatibility. While it would be frustrating if a PlayStation 6 couldn’t play PlayStation 4 games, that’s not the same as Genshin Impact constantly needing new hardware to function.

I remember when you could at least keep playing your old console and games until the discs started to fall apart, and even then, finding another copy wasn’t too hard. Thankfully, things like ROMs and emulators meant even if the physical copies failed, we could still experience those games. But now, it’s different. When a game like Genshin Impact stops being supported on older consoles, it’s just… gone. You can’t just dust off the old hardware and play; you have to upgrade to the newest tech just to even log in, let alone actually enjoy the game. It’s frustrating!

Live service games will likely remain dominant in the gaming world, and it seems increasingly likely that cloud streaming and digital ownership will become standard. We’re already seeing this happen – games like Genshin Impact and The Finals dropping support for older consoles shows developers they can make these changes without much backlash. While I’m pretty sure this is where things are headed, it’s still unsettling. It’s disappointing that players might lose access to games they enjoy, and that as gamers, we often feel like we have to accept whatever changes, pricing models, or questionable new features come our way.

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2026-02-25 02:15