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9800 Dev's Publisher Agreement Without Warning
Kotaku • • technology
Key Points:
- Ternox Games announced that Sony has "unilaterally terminated" its PlayStation publishing agreement, resulting in the removal of 14 of its games from the PlayStation Store after August 23 without any explanation from Sony.
- The developer expressed frustration over Sony's lack of communication and stated it will no longer be able to self-publish games on PlayStation, cancelling plans for a PS5 release and physical edition of its popular game STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator.
- Sony has been actively removing large numbers of titles from the PlayStation Store as part of an anti-shovelware effort, but Ternox Games’ portfolio mainly consists of low-budget indie games rather than typical shovelware.
- Despite some questionable titles, Ternox Games has improved its game quality significantly, with STONKS-9800 receiving "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews on Steam, raising questions about why Sony targeted the publisher.
- It is speculated that an automated process may have mistakenly flagged some of Ternox's games, triggering the removal, but the exact reason remains unclear pending any official statement from Sony.
