What you need to know
- PlayStation Communities is a PlayStation 4 feature that allowed users to make groups based on shared interests.
- Sony revealed in an email to PS4 users that Communities is officially shutting down in April.
- The company is investing more resources into the PlayStation 5, which doesn't support Communities.
Sony today confirmed that it's officially discontinuing the PlayStation Communities feature. The feature, which allowed users to make groups together, will shut down in April. It encourages users to continue to stay in touch with the PS Messages feature.
The news was first announced in an email to PlayStation 4 users, and was confirmed in an official notice on the PlayStation site: "Thank you for using the PS Communities feature on your PS4 console. Beginning in April 2021, this feature will no longer be supported or available on your PS4 console."
Communities was a PS4 feature that allowed users to make groups. The PS4 user manual described it thus: "Communities are places where you can find players who have similar interests and preferences. Within a Community, you can play games or have parties with other Community members, or talk about your shared interests." This made it ideal for playing the best PS4 multiplayer games out there, and for socializing on the system outside of any particular game.
Given that it's not available on the PS5, it seems like Sony is slowing sunsetting PS4 features as users transition to the new console. That said, Communities was already on the wane before the console launched, as the app was shut down a year ago. If you're part of a Community and wish to end it before Sony ends it for you, you can find instructions on how to do that here.
Sony mentions in the official notice that "you'll still be able to stay connected and enjoy messaging features and more on your PS4 and the PlayStation App." Unlike Communities, the PS5 supports the messaging features currently available on the PS4. If you use the voice chat features, you might be interested in the best PS5 headsets with microphones that work with Sony's consoles.
