PlayStation Ended Their Stars Rewards, Leaving Fans Scrambling for Answers

In the battle between Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox for console superiority, 2025 saw things heating up. In June, big news broke that Xbox was partnering up with Steam, making the next generation of Xbox widely appealing for those looking to integrate their love for PC gaming with their love of console convenience.

Unfortunately for PlayStation players, things aren't going quite as swimmingly. The Sony console company announced in May 2025 that they would be ending their Stars Rewards program, which many fans consider one of the last compelling reasons to choose PlayStation over Sony. Why did they decide to end Stars, and what does this mean for fans?

Here's what we know.

If you ask console fans which one is better, you'll get as many different answers as people you ask. But it's undeniable that Xbox's newly announced collaboration with Steam (via Gaming Bible) was as much of a draw as was PlayStation's Star Rewards program, which allowed players to purchase rewards through a rewards library after they had accumulated a certain amount.

For every $1 spent through the PlayStation purchase system, players earned 10 points, or Stars.

Rewards include in-game purchase credits, games, and other PlayStation benefits that fans have enjoyed.

Unfortunately, it's coming to an end.

The PlayStation.Blog announced on May 21, 2025, "This version of the PlayStation Stars program will fully end on November 2, 2026."

But why? Unfortunately, we don't have a solid answer, at least not yet. In their announcement, Sony explained that they were constantly evaluating the types of activities their players respond well to, adding, "Through this evaluation, we have decided to refocus our efforts and will be winding down the current version of PlayStation Stars. We will continue to evaluate our key findings from this program, and are looking into ways to build upon these learnings."

What exactly that means is anyone's guess, especially considering the Stars program was very popular among PlayStation console players, so the idea to axe it is both perplexing and surprising.

On TikTok, fans are having some big reactions to the news, with one asking PS, "Are ya'll okay??" Another scolded Sony, writing, "PS is losing to Xbox because of all the memberships and compatibility it has, and PS takes its one best feature off?!"

Other fans threatened to take their business to XBox, with several citing the collaboration with Steam as to why they're making the switch, but a few pointing to the loss of the Stars program as a primary incentive to leave.

It seems like an unusual move, but PlayStation has managed to hold on since its inception in 1995. So, after 30 years of staying ahead of the demise of PlayStation, we have to hope that they have something up their sleeves to compete with Xbox.

Anything at all would be nice.