PlayStation staff reportedly under social media restrictions amid physical game protests

The social media fury over PlayStation’s shift away from physical games continues. So far, the company has yet to make another statement on the future of PS5 discs following its July 1st blog post. According to a former God of War: Laufey writer, that silence is intentional. Alanah Pearce claims that Sony instructed workers not to address complaints.

Sony guards its secrets

Pearce is also a popular content creator and gaming journalist. In a new video, she reveals that Sony anticipated the protests following the announcement. Part of the Santa Monica Studio team, Pearce was restricted in what she could say regarding the upcoming God of War title.

The same limitations are preventing workers from replying to game preservationists. Still, first-party studio employees told the YouTuber that they are the “strictest social media guidelines for this particular thing that they've ever seen issued.”

Whether or not Sony’s strategy will work in the long term is unclear. Weeks after gamers learned the fate of PS5 discs, PlayStation marketing is still sidetracked by critics. Some partners are also reportedly concerned about the effectiveness of paid promotional posts.

Are protests doomed?

If Pearce is correct, the outcry will eventually fade. As long as buyers continue to favor digital games, supporters will adapt to a more dominant PlayStation Store. Circana data backs up that theory, which showed that despite the backlash, physical game sales are floundering.

Sony’s reluctance to engage fans on social media is not a new phenomenon. By contrast, particularly since Xbox CEO Asha Sharma took over, Microsoft has been more proactive. Although the company has made questionable decisions, it responded to criticism about a lack of exclusive games. Recently, Xbox commented on hacked accounts, an issue its rival has largely ignored.

Microsoft’s approach also has downsides. PlayStation likely hopes to avoid potentially confusing mixed messaging. If its move to prioritize digital games is irreversible, replies may only serve to extend the protests.