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Sony will launch a new “loyalty program” called PlayStation Stars later this year to reward regular and avid players with points that can be spent on PlayStation Store funds and products as well as new “digital collectibles.”
Grace Ghen, vice president of network advertising, loyalty and licensed merchandise, announced the program in a PlayStation Blog post (opens in new tab). PlayStation Stars will be free to join, and members can earn rewards and points through “a variety of campaigns and activities” ranging from playing any game on at least a monthly basis to obtaining specific trophies or even being “the first player to platinum a blockbuster title in your local time zone.” Blockbuster titles would presumably include the likes of God of War Ragnarok and other first-party headliners.
PlayStation Plus apparently isn’t required to join PlayStation Stars, but Plus subscribers who enroll will also automatically earn points on store purchases which can then be spent at the PlayStation Store on wallet funds or products. How many points you’d need to purchase, say, a new PS5 game, or whether such games will even be directly available for points, is uncertain.
With PS Store funds apparently purchasable with points and “select PlayStation Store products” also available through a points catalog, it should be possible to purchase a game purely through this program, though it might take a while. That said, Chen notably says that the points catalog “may” contain PS wallet funds and store products, which suggests its contents may vary or are still up in the air internally.
Digital collectibles with varying rarities will also be up for grabs, though the way to acquire and use these collectibles also remains unclear.
“They are digital representations of things that PlayStation fans enjoy, including figurines of beloved and iconic characters from games and other forms of entertainment, as well as cherished devices that tap into Sony’s history of innovation,” Chen says of the collectibles. “There will always be a new collectible to earn, an ultra rare collectible to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun.”
In an interview with The Washington Post (opens in new tab), Chen stressed that PlayStation Stars rewards will appeal to new and long-time players.
“Obviously, for players who have been with PlayStation for a long time and have been on this game journey with us, we want to be able to recognize and reward them in distinct ways, but there will be a lot of aspects about this program that new customers will enjoy as well.”
Chen was also quick to clarify what those “digital collectibles” are and are not given the backlash around NFTs in gaming, which could also be described as digital collectibles (of the non-fungible variety). It’s still unclear what they’ll be used for – perhaps as cosmetics like system backgrounds and user icons, or simply archived collectibles to sit alongside trophies – but Chen insists that “it’s definitely not NFTs” as these items can’t be traded or sold and don’t use any blockchain tech.
This news comes on the heels of the first major expansion to the new PlayStation Plus game catalog, which is adding Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and five Assassin’s Creed games, among others, this month.
