Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
It’s been almost a month since Sony announced its decision to cease manufacturing physical games in 2028, and it hasn’t uttered a word since.
While parts of the PlayStation community plot a blackout in protest, I think it’s also worth considering how the company could improve on its existing digital marketplace.
If we are to endure an all-digital future, then I think there are several meaningful strides the company should take towards making its storefront better.
As things stand, it could be argued the PS Store is the worst of all gaming marketplaces – regardless of how much money it accumulates.
Here are several areas I’d like to see Sony invest in; not necessarily as a replacement for physical media (although that does increasingly feel like it’s going to be the case), but as a commitment to its customers to make its digital shopping experience better.
A Proper Refund Policy
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
Sony doesn’t have a refund policy for the PS Store really.
The company will occasionally make exceptions in particularly egregious situations, like with Cyberpunk 2077, but generally you’re not eligible for a refund on digital PlayStation games.
This needs to change.
As things stand, the platform holder may give you a refund if you don’t trigger the download on a game you bought, but once you’ve started pulling data you’re pretty much out of luck.
I think this is unacceptable in 2026.
Steam, for example, will allow you to refund a game if you’ve played it for less than two hours. This gives you time to see whether it’s for you.
It’s a particularly generous policy that has led to exploitation, with one indie developer complaining recently that people were getting a refund on his relatively short game after finishing it.
Personally, I think a 30 minute session should be enough, and it would be better than what we currently have, which is nothing at all.
The Ability to Trade and Sell Digital Games
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
One of the reasons people prefer physical games is because it gives them the flexibility to lend titles to friends, resell them, or give them away. None of this is possible with digital games.
But there’s no reason it shouldn’t be.
In theory, it should be possible to temporarily share a digital license with another account – or even permanently reallocate it.
I understand digital media doesn’t spoil like physical items, which can be taken out of their shrink wrap, damaged, or soiled.
But I think some kind of sensible solution, giving users actual ownership over their digital content, would unquestionably build trust in its ecosystem.
A Working Wishlist
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
The PS Store has a wishlist, but it’s broken.
I have over 100 games I genuinely want to buy on my wishlist, but I can only load it on Sony’s website, as it doesn’t load on the console itself.
This is crazy to me.
The wishlist is also riddled with UI flaws, like the fact you can’t see the price of games included in the PS Plus catalogue – even if you may want to buy them, rather than download them as part of your subscription.
A big part of a game’s promotional cycle has become the wishlist – it’s common to see publishers encourage you to follow a game, long before it even has a release date.
But if Sony is putting an increased emphasis on the feature, then it needs to build functionality fit for purpose.
The wishlist should be a hub for your future game purchases; it should spotlight release dates and discounts and DLC drops – pertinent information about the games you’ve chosen to follow.
And it should inform discoverability as well.
At present, none of this works as it should.
Discoverability Is So Important
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
I’ll give Sony a bit of credit: it has been removing a lot of digital detritus from the PS Store of late.
But discoverability is still disastrous on PlayStation’s storefront, whether you’re browsing on the console, website, or app.
The store’s great at pushing the biggest games in front of your face, but I think it does a poor job of surfacing the smaller gems that may appeal to your buying habits.
The company at least appears to understand this, as it’s been talking a lot about how it intends to use AI to analyse players’ purchasing habits and recommend more relevant titles moving forwards. That’s a good thing.
The way I see this, it’s in Sony’s best interest to spotlight the software that each individual player will actually want.
That’s going to lead to stronger retention, tighter partnerships, and increased profits. Here’s a rare example where improvements to the PS Store could benefit both consumers and the corporate bottom line.
Gifting Is Essential
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
I can’t believe I’m writing about a PS Store in 2026 which doesn’t even have basic gifting capabilities. Surely this is a standard for all digital storefronts?
If physical media is going away, then it’d sure be nice to be able to send friends and family games directly, purchased through the PS Store.
I don’t really think this needs elaborating on, because it’s such a basic and simple feature that it seems utterly absurd it doesn’t already exist.
I know you can always send friends and family PSN vouchers, but this shouldn’t be the only way.
Again, it’s in Sony’s best interest to add something like this, because it’s only going to result in more purchases on the PS Store.
Richer Pages with Community Features
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
Sometimes I look at Steam’s product pages and I want to cry. They’re so rich!
I know Sony has improved the PS Store slightly with user reviews, but pages are generally so basic.
I’d love to see richer product descriptions with videos, screenshots, images, and artwork.
Wouldn’t it be nice if developers could have a direct relationship with their customers via community posts and forums, all part of the game page itself?
It’d be bad for business on Push Square, but I also wouldn’t say no to community created guides and strategies; it’d be nice to have direct access to content like that within the console itself.
I think the PS Store feels so dated and stagnant. Sure, it functions, and that’s the most important part. But I think Sony could build a bit more retention around all of its products if it added more features to the marketplace itself.
Deeper Discounts
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
I don’t think the PS Store’s discounts are anywhere near as bad as some people often say. We’ll routinely see thousands of games discounted, sometimes as low as a few dollars.
But I do think Sony has to be aggressive in this area, especially if it’s going to phase out retail releases, which can often be bought at clearance prices due to the inherent competition that exists in physical stores.
There’s a balancing act to maintain here: a race to the bottom benefits no one, and there’s perhaps an argument that Steam’s deep, deep, deep discounting has impacted the value of the software it’s selling.
Whatever the case, it’s important for the PS Store to have a constant rotation of compelling sales.
Capcom’s financial reports are a reminder that gaming in the digital age is different to how it used to be. With no physical inventory to manage, games can enjoy longer lifespans, which means it’s possible for titles like Devil May Cry 5 to achieve their highest sales totals years after launch.
The PS Store needs to support publishers in ensuring their catalogues have long lifespans.
And as I’ve mentioned multiple times in this article now, this benefits both the platform holder and the consumer, as it all relates to spending within the ecosystem.
A Loyalty Scheme
Image: Sammy Barker / Push Square
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised Sony killed its loyalty scheme PS Stars just months before physical media. This is the way of the ensh*ttified world we all currently live in.
But I think little kickbacks would go a long way in this all-digital future. I actually really enjoyed accumulating points in PS Stars, and I felt like it was worth my time, earning me the odd monthly pass in games I play, like Honkai: Star Rail.
I’m not sure PlayStation will ever go as far as handing out free credit ever again, but it should.
Sony may be the market leader, but that doesn’t mean it can treat its customers with contempt. Give fans a reason to spend, reward them, and maybe – just maybe – it’ll see better retention as a result.
There’s no doubt about it: if Sony insists on killing physical media, then it must make the PS Store a better place to shop. I don’t expect it to execute on all of these ideas immediately, but every single one should be on its radar.
The wildest thing to me is that many of these improvements are genuinely worth investing in, as they will make its marketplace a more lucrative endeavour. If the Japanese giant only cares about its bottom line, and not consumers, then it should implement many of these ideas anyway.
But do you agree with these suggestions? Is there anything I’ve missed? Let me know below.
What’s the most important PS Store improvement to you? (250 votes)
- A proper refund policy23%
- The ability to sell/trade digital games28%
- Improved UI features, like wishlists3%
- Better discoverability of games3%
- Gifting to friends and family5%
- Richer, more interesting product pages2%
- Deeper, more consistent discounts20%
- Some kind of loyalty scheme10%
- Other7%