A mass departure of digital titles is scheduled for early summer, affecting several popular experiences on Sony's PlayStation hardware. A total of six different games are officially set to be taken down by the start of June. This move highlights the precarious nature of owning software that exists only on a company's remote servers rather than on a physical disc in your home. For many PlayStation users, these upcoming changes will result in a significant loss of variety in the store's current library. One of these titles is a major social game that will lose its entire online world on the very first day of June.
The reality of modern gaming often involves a delicate balance between licensing agreements and the high costs of keeping servers running. Many digital-only titles are at risk of being lost forever because they lack a physical release to fall back on if they are removed from sale. Publishers often have to make tough choices when player numbers dwindle or when the fees for maintaining online infrastructure become too high to justify. As the industry moves into the current generation, older hardware is slowly seeing its support fade as the next phase of gaming approaches....
