Ah, PlayStation Stars, I knew it well. The short-lived PlayStation reward program that allowed players to complete in-game challenges for goodies officially stopped taking new members earlier this year. Current members can no longer complete challenges for rewards, but you can spend whatever points you have left. You also get to keep the NFTs - ahem, digital collectibles, you earned in the program.
I received a reminder to use the points I had accrued before they expire next year, so I thought I'd pass that along to anybody else who was in the program and forgot it was a thing. I don't know if expiration is dependent on when you signed up, Sony told me my points are expiring in January.
It wasn't perfect, but the reward program was off to a decent start in my opinion. I was able to pay for a large portion of my tournament-winning College Football 25 lineup with points earned from PlayStation Stars. I would likely not have spent enough of my own money to upgrade that lineup
"We want to thank all of our players for supporting PlayStation Stars since the launch in 2022," Sony said in a statement announcing the closing. "As we explore new ways to evolve our loyalty program efforts for the future, we’ll continue to celebrate all of our players through the various community activities we have planned.
The programs we create are all inspired by you, and we look forward to bringing you compelling new experiences for many generations to come."
Xbox still has a reward program that allows you to earn for playing games, keeping your Xbox Live membership active, et cetera. Here's hoping Sony comes up with something similar. While I might complain about the amount of the rewards, Microsoft's process here is smoother and, most importantly, still active.