PlayStation Is Finally Purging More Slop Games, and It’s About Time

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Even though it’s still winter, PlayStation recently did a major cleanup of its online store. They removed over 1,000 low-quality games from a single publisher known for releasing titles that weren’t worth playing. The “Jumping” series of games, in particular, has been completely removed – a move that was long overdue. While this is a welcome step, PlayStation still has a lot of work to do to improve the overall quality of games available on its store.

As a trophy hunter, I remember ThiGames well – and not for good reasons! Their games were famous for being super cheap and having really easy Platinum trophies. It was tempting for people like me who wanted to boost their trophy collection quickly and without spending much money. Honestly, having a few simple games isn’t a big deal, but ThiGames released so many of them! The PlayStation Store got completely flooded with these games, often just slightly different versions or “Turbo” editions. And if you were really dedicated, you could even get multiple Platinums by playing the PS4 and PS5 versions, plus versions from different regions that each had their own trophy lists. It quickly became a bit of a headache.

The PlayStation Store Has Been Infected With Slop for Years

To make matters worse, other developers began releasing very simple, low-quality games, hoping to attract players looking for a cheap and easy way to earn a Platinum trophy. It’s unclear if these developers were copying ThiGames (as YouTuber Dead Domain noted, it’s difficult to identify the source of these misleading games), but the result was a PlayStation Store overflowing with uninspired, poorly-made titles that few people genuinely wanted to play. This flood of games also clogs up nearly every section of the store – not just the main page, but also sales lists and previews of upcoming releases. It’s become a pervasive issue, making it impossible to browse the PlayStation Store without encountering these games.

This is seriously hurting how easily customers can find what they’re looking for, which is essential for any online store. With so many unwanted items cluttering the pages, it’s incredibly difficult to highlight the good deals. For instance, the current holiday sale is massive – 181 pages with 24 games on each! A popular RPG, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, is available for just $5.09 on page 50, but it’s unlikely anyone will stumble across it buried that deep. Page 98 contains a lot of low-quality games, but also a discounted VR title, Border Bots VR, which is a unique and engaging game similar to Papers, Please, but with robots and in virtual reality. It’s like trying to find valuable gems hidden amongst a mountain of junk – most people probably won’t bother looking.

PlayStation would better serve players by encouraging them to buy games they’ll actually enjoy, rather than cheap, easy-to-complete “trophy bait” titles. That $2.99 could be much better spent on a quality game like Hotline Miami Collection or Mortal Shell, which are often available at the same price. While excellent games are frequently discounted, they can be hard to find. Highlighting these worthwhile experiences would encourage more people to explore gaming and potentially buy more games in the long run. These low-quality games are a waste of money and won’t inspire anyone to become a dedicated gamer.

Game developers who prioritize quality and meaningful experiences are concerned about this, as it threatens their work. A February 2025 report by IGN highlighted the problem, including comments from several developers who wished to remain anonymous. One of them explained how frustrating it is to compete in this current market.

It’s really frustrating, honestly. I keep hearing that if everyone floods the platforms with low-quality stuff, it just pushes those of us who put in real effort further down, on every list. The whole system is getting overloaded, and it feels like you’re getting squeezed out. I’ve been developing my game for six years, pouring my heart into it, and then someone else can whip something up in six months and spam a dozen copies… it’s just completely overwhelming and makes it hard to get noticed.

Nintendo Needs to Follow Suit With the eShop

The Nintendo eShop, like other online stores, is overwhelmed with low-quality games. It’s become difficult to find good titles, similar to the problem on PlayStation. What makes it stranger on Switch is the lack of any reward system like trophies or achievements. This issue is particularly ironic considering Nintendo’s history; they once saved the video game industry by focusing on quality control and preventing a flood of terrible games. A return to that level of curation is needed to combat the current influx of useless games and restore trust in the store.

Things are likely to get even more problematic. Generative AI is making it simpler to create low-quality content, letting less scrupulous developers deceive people more easily and quickly. This flood of inappropriate material, clickbait, copyright violations, and quickly repurposed assets can now be disguised with more appealing visuals, masking the underlying issues. It’s disheartening to see how much of this uninspired content is readily available on platforms like the PlayStation Store. Generative AI is essentially helping scammers, and there was already a significant amount of this happening.

PlayStation has already taken steps to improve the quality of games available on its store, removing some titles in the past. However, more action is needed quickly. Thousands of low-quality games are still available, wasting players’ time and money. While it’s challenging to create new rules, it’s essential, especially with the increasing number of poorly made games generated by AI. So many excellent games are released each week, and they deserve to stand out without being overshadowed by quickly made, low-effort games that exploit the system to gain visibility.

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2026-01-16 15:39