Sony's ongoing efforts to curate the PlayStation Store appear to be intensifying, with new reports indicating that stricter guidelines are now impacting developers. The Brazil-based studio Afil Games has stated that its partnership with Sony has been terminated, a move attributed to these newly implemented policies.
Afil Games announced the termination of its PlayStation releases in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "As a result of these new guidelines and their incompatibility with our business model, PlayStation has decided not to continue with Afil Games for future releases on the platform," the studio stated. The developer also expressed gratitude to its players and confirmed a commitment to releasing future titles on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, the Microsoft Store, and Nintendo Switch.
While the exact nature of these stricter guidelines remains unclear, Afil Games has published several casual puzzle titles on the PlayStation Store, including Chico's Delivery, Collie Call, and Damways. As of this report, these games remain available for purchase on the platform.
This development follows a broader trend of Sony increasing its scrutiny of content on the PlayStation Store. In February of this year, the company removed over 30 games described as "slop," and in January, a significant purge saw over 1,000 titles from German publisher ThiGames delisted. These actions suggest a concerted push by Sony to address the proliferation of low-quality or repetitive games on its digital storefront.