Sony Axes Over 1,000 Shovelware Titles From PlayStation Store in Massive Cleanup
Sony has removed more than 1,000 low-quality games from the PlayStation Store, marking the second major delisting this year as the platform holder cracks down on trophy-farming shovelware.
The PlayStation Store just got a whole lot cleaner. Sony has delisted over 1,000 shovelware titles from just two publishers - Nostra Games and CGI Lab - in what marks the second mass cleanup of 2026. This follows the removal of approximately 1,200 games from developer ThiGames back in January, signaling Sony's continued effort to combat the flood of low-quality releases plaguing its digital storefront.
The removed titles weren't designed to trick casual players into spending money, but rather to exploit trophy hunters seeking easy Platinum achievements. These bare-bones games were often released as multiple regional "stacks" - the same game listed several times with separate trophy sets for each region. This means the 1,000+ delistings actually represent closer to 100 unique games, each duplicated across multiple storefronts. Cyprus-based Nostra Games alone accounted for over 700 removals.
However, speculation suggests the studio may have pushed its luck too far by selling trophy stacks as bundles, essentially charging players for the same game seven or eight times at once.The shovelware problem has made browsing the PlayStation Store increasingly frustrating, with "Coming Soon" and "New Release" sections overwhelmed by cheap, low-effort titles. This forces legitimate indie games and major releases to compete for visibility against an avalanche of $2.99 trash. For those mourning the loss of their favorite trophy farms, many of these titles remain available on Steam, Xbox Store, and Nintendo eShop.