PlayStation is facing fresh criticism over digital ownership after Ukrainian developer and publisher Ternox Games revealed that 13 games connected to the company will disappear from PlayStation.
The removals are scheduled for August 23, 2026, yet Sony has made no public announcement explaining the situation. According to Ternox Games, Sony instead unilaterally terminated its PlayStation developer and publisher agreement without providing a reason.
That silence is quickly becoming one of the biggest problems surrounding the situation.
Players have spent real money building digital PlayStation libraries. Therefore, removing games without clearly explaining what happens to previous purchases raises serious questions about how much ownership customers actually have over their digital collections.
13 PlayStation Games Are Being Removed
Ternox Games says the termination of its agreement with Sony will result in 13 games being removed from PlayStation.
The affected games are:
- Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes
- Finger Fitness
- Retro Highway
- Unichrome: A 1-Bit Unicorn Adventure
- O-VOID: Console Edition
- Run & Jump Guy
- Scrap Divers
- Fox’s Zen House
- Boned Again: Survivors
- Dungeonloop
- IN-VERT
- Taimumari: Complete Edition
- Bullet Beat
Some of these titles were developed directly by Ternox Games, while others were published by the company.
At the moment, Ternox Games has confirmed the upcoming removals. However, Sony has not publicly explained why it terminated the agreement.
The Biggest Question Is What Happens to Purchased Games
There is an important distinction between a normal delisting and what is sometimes described as a “hard delisting.”
Under a normal delisting, a game disappears from the PlayStation Store and can no longer be purchased. Players who already bought it can generally continue downloading and playing it through their existing library.
A more severe removal could potentially affect access for existing owners.
That distinction matters enormously here.
Ternox Games has announced that the games are being removed, but there remains uncertainty about exactly what the August 23 shutdown means for people who already purchased them.
Sony’s silence does little to reassure those customers.
Even if existing purchases remain completely safe, PlayStation should communicate that clearly. Customers should not have to speculate about whether something they purchased will remain available after a publisher agreement ends.
STONKS-9800 PS5 Release Has Also Been Cancelled
The situation extends beyond the 13 existing games.
Ternox Games had been working on bringing STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator to PlayStation 5.
The game has become a significant success for the small studio. It reportedly reached 100,000 copies sold and currently holds an overwhelmingly positive reception on Steam.
Ternox was preparing a PS5 version and had even considered a physical release.
Those plans are now dead.
Because Sony terminated the company’s PlayStation agreement, Ternox Games says STONKS-9800 will no longer release on PS5.
For an independent developer that had already invested resources into bringing its game to the platform, suddenly losing access without a publicly known explanation is understandably concerning.
Was Ternox Caught in PlayStation’s Shovelware Crackdown?
One theory circulating online connects the decision to Sony’s ongoing efforts to clean up the PlayStation Store.
PlayStation has been removing low-effort games commonly described as “shovelware.” These releases often exist primarily to offer extremely easy trophies or generate quick sales with minimal development effort.
Cleaning up the PlayStation Store is not necessarily a bad thing.
However, there is currently no confirmation that Ternox Games was removed because of Sony’s shovelware policies.
If that eventually proves to be the reason, it would raise another question: why was the entire developer and publisher agreement terminated rather than individual problematic releases being addressed?
Ternox’s catalogue consists largely of smaller indie games rather than major AAA productions. That alone does not make those games shovelware.
Small developers should not automatically be treated as low-quality publishers simply because their projects have smaller budgets.
PlayStation’s Silence Makes the Situation Worse
Sony has every right to enforce quality standards on the PlayStation Store. It also needs systems to combat misleading releases, trophy spam and other low-effort products.
However, transparency matters.
If a developer violates PlayStation policies, Sony should communicate that to the developer. More importantly for customers, Sony should clearly explain what happens to games that people have already purchased.
Instead, players are currently left with questions.
Will previous purchases remain downloadable?
Will the games continue working?
Why was Ternox Games removed?
Why was the entire publisher agreement terminated?
Could other developers suddenly face the same situation?
These questions become increasingly important as console gaming continues shifting toward digital distribution.
Digital Ownership Is Already Under Pressure
The gaming industry has spent years encouraging players to abandon physical media.
Publishers promote digital editions. Consoles are increasingly sold without disc drives. Subscription services continue expanding, while physical releases have become less common for smaller games.
That transition requires trust.
When someone spends money on a digital game, they reasonably expect access to that purchase to remain available.
Licensing agreements and digital storefront terms make the legal reality more complicated than physical ownership. Nevertheless, most customers do not think about licensing contracts when pressing the purchase button.
They see a game.
They pay for it.
They expect to keep it.
Situations like this remind players how dependent digital libraries remain on platform holders.
Sony Needs to Explain What Is Happening
The removal of 13 relatively small indie games will probably not have a major financial impact on PlayStation.
The precedent is more important.
Ternox Games says Sony terminated its agreement without providing a reason. Its upcoming PS5 release has consequently been cancelled, while 13 existing games are scheduled for removal on August 23.
Meanwhile, customers are left wondering what happens next.
Sony may have a legitimate reason for terminating the agreement. Until the company explains that reason, however, players only have one side of the story.
PlayStation has built one of gaming’s largest digital ecosystems. With that position comes responsibility.
If Sony wants players to continue spending hundreds or even thousands of euros on digital libraries, those customers deserve transparency when purchased content is threatened with removal.
Silence only fuels concerns that digital ownership ultimately means owning something until the platform holder decides otherwise.
