What is the #PSBlackout Movement and how did it start?
Yesterday, a new movement online started up that has been gaining significant traffic online called #PSBlackout. This movement is coordinated by “DoesitPlay?” and has been picked up by major publications, from IGN, Kotaku, to Pushsquare, Insider Gaming, Eurogamer, and a few content creators, like Tyrone Magnus and OhnoitsAlexx. So much so that the official petition over at Change.org has amassed over 345,000 signatures since it started. But what really started this movement?
On July 1st of this month, Sony and PlayStation announced a definitive end date for physical game production on discs. That is January 2028, a little less than a year and a half from the announcement. This news, obviously, set the internet ablaze and has caused an ongoing online backlash campaign that continues to rage over three weeks since this announcement. If you take a stroll to any of PlayStation’s official accounts from X/Twitter to YouTube, you will see a barrage of gamers voicing their disdain over this decision.
But this is not the only thing that’s been causing this announcement to be a tipping point of sorts. From shutting down multiple marquee studios, like Bluepoint, or leaving the PS VR2 without proper support for a long time, amongst other heartbreaking decisions like gutting Bungie’s ongoing support for their marquee title Destiny 2 just recently, while issuing hundreds of layoffs shortly after seeing a sizeable resurgence in the player count that has been ongoing for over a month.
The #PSBlackout movement aims to do one thing: make your voice heard by not participating for a short period of time. Here is what you can do to join the movement next month.
The Goals of the #PSBlackout Movement
#PSBlackout is simple in what it’s asking people to do. Anyone who wants to participate can simply shut off their PlayStation console or log out for a 7-day period. From August 23rd to August 30th. This is essentially an “at-home” boycott that lets players voice their issues with the current path PlayStation is taking: by not giving them another dime, or adding any play time or other metrics that companies laser-focus on too much.
Below is the proper announcement from DoesitPlay? With all of their reasons for starting this movement:
Movements like this are important in the current landscape of gaming, as it allows the average everyday customer in any capacity to show how much they disagree with decisions and/or any issues they simply do not wish to put up with anymore. Its clearcut from the noise of the many that are already spreading it around online that ownership of the products they pay for was the last straw. As described in the official promo image, it is about giving these people a voice and potentially inspiring others to do the same.
