Playstation Store removes Studiocanal movies, no refunds offered

Sony is reportedly removing films from production company Studiocanal from the PlayStation Store in some regions, with customers losing the ability to play that content even if they have already purchased it. The news, spotted by Exputer, was shared on the PlayStation Store website in Germany and Austria, with current owners being notified of the changes in a blog post.

"As of August 31, 2022, due to the evolution of our licensing agreements with content providers, you will no longer be able to view your previously purchased Studiocanal content and it will be removed from your video library," reads the review, as translated by Google.

No mention of refunds given, although a long list of titles impacted - like American Gods, Apocalypse Now, Chicken Run, Daredevil , John Wick, Saw, The Crow: City of Angels and The Hunger Games – are detailed.

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It appears that customers who have previously purchased these titles from the PlayStation Store will no longer have access to this content in Germany and Austria from September due to complications with global licensing agreements.

Sony halted global sales of film and TV content in August 2021, but at the time it was promised that content already purchased would remain accessible in the future.

"When this change takes effect, users will still be able to access film and TV content they have purchased through the PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices," said Vanessa Lee, Video Business Manager, SIE in a blog post.

At this time, it is unknown why this position has changed so quickly and whether the announcements in Germany and Austria will impact the global versions of the PlayStation Store. Affected owners call the act "sad" and wonder about the future of digital entertainment in a world where licenses can be withdrawn so easily, seemingly with no solution offered.

Although this decision has not yet rolled out to other regions, keep an eye out for PlayStation Store updates.