Sony has decided to axe the PlayStation 5’s lesser-spotted Accolades feature due to a lack of usage.
As noted by Push Square, the feature was designed to let players complement each other in online games by awarding teammates and opponents badges based on their playstyle.
It’s a neat idea in principle and one that Sony presumably hoped would help foster a more welcoming, positive player community. It seems players, however, were less enthused by the system — or perhaps simply didn’t realise it existed. As a result, it will be discontinued later this year.
“In fall of 2022, the Accolades feature on PlayStation 5 will no longer be supported. The feature hasn’t seen the level of usage we anticipated, so we are refocusing our efforts,” wrote Sony on the PlayStation support website. “We encourage the community to continue to send positive messages to one another.”
The news means the feature will have survived for less than two years, with the PlayStation 5 launching in November 2020.
According to Sony’s most recent financial report, the console has sold 21.7 million units to date — although it seems like PlayStation owners are spending less time playing games of late.
Speaking about the current level of user engagement, Sony explained that the total gameplay time for PlayStation users declined by 15 percent year-on-year during Q1 FY22.
The company described that downward shift as a “much lower level of engagement” than it anticipated, and suggested a bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic was the primary reason for the change.
“The overall game market has recently decelerated as opportunities have increased for users to go outside due to a reduction in COVID-19 infections in key markets,” it added. “Taking this situation into account, we intend to take action to increase user engagement in the second half of the fiscal year.”