[PlayStation Store] Improve game curation and approval process

**TLDR: Just** **me ranting about the current state of the PlayStation Store. I had my game stolen and sold there earlier this year. My latest project - a VR game I’ve been working on since 2023 that was refused a separate VR page was supposed to release tomorrow, but the PSVR2 version got delayed. Meanwhile, shovelware games keep getting approved without issue.** I want to start by saying that I’ve been a lifelong fan of PlayStation. Having a couple of my games available on their platform has always been an incredible honor. **This post isn’t meant as an attack - it’s simply an honest discussion about the current state of the PlayStation Store, and how deeply disheartening it is for smaller developers.** In my personal opinion, it feels as though PlayStation is doing little to support developers and increasingly allowing “shovelware” with an AI art slapped on it to flood the store. I don’t know exactly why this is happening.. perhaps because these low-quality releases still generate revenue but it’s heartbreaking to see. This isn’t just my perspective as a developer but it’s also as a consumer. A lot of players end up buying these games by mistake, and when that happens can they get a refund? Nope. They’re stuck with it. I still believe players should have that option on a refund. It’s only fair. Back in February, I released my game *The Backrooms 1998* on consoles. Unfortunately, someone ripped it, stole it and released it there first. You can read all about it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/1iy28ga/a_big_scam_company_just_stole_my_whole_game_from/). It was basically stolen by one of these scam companies and sold as their own under a different titles. To PlayStation’s credit, they did remove the stolen version. However, in the end the people who stole my game still benefited financially. They got paid. Closed down the company, opened 10 others in a different name and mostly probably done the same. PlayStation got paid. I, the original developer received nothing. These companies operate by simply shutting down, rebranding under a new name, and repeating the same scheme over and over. Meanwhile, indie developers continue working tirelessly, struggling to gain visibility, while these people exploit the system. The saddest part to me is that they’re being allowed to do this and that’s exactly why they keep doing it. Scammers will scam; that’s what they do... I guess? But this is your platform, PlayStation. Why is this still happening? Who’s approving all of these games? Why are real, legitimate games getting it all hard while shovelware gets approved instantly? That’s my question. Another example also happened to CloverPit recently. Someone already ripped it off and put it on Playstation. The original dev made a post about it on twitter. Same thing happened with tons of other indie devs. It’s incredibly discouraging. What was once a top-tier platform for quality games now feels worse than a mobile store. As a small indie developer, it’s painful to see how flooded the marketplace has become. If you browse the “Games to Wishlist” section, you’ll find maybe 100 genuine real games buried under 800. That hurts smaller developers. We rely on that visibility sometimes especially ones that we have no budget for marketing .. and we’re being drowned out. I am not even sure if I can survive a couple of more years in this market. I understand this is a platform-wide problem and not just Playstation. I know it happens on Nintendo e-shop as well... but maybe a little more curation to your platforms may help? Recently, I’ve been working on my first VR game. To give some context - I been working on it since 2023. I released my first game on Playstation called [Trenches](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0891-PPSA11270_00-TRENCHESRATALAIK). Now I was working on Trenches VR. Unfortunately, Sony would not allow us to have a separate VR page for the title, even though other VR games have been granted a separate VR page so we can start collecting wishlists. Instead, I was told to direct players to wishlist the base version of the game (which is already out) which only confuses players. Basically VR players need to wishlist the base game that is already out and then get a notification when VR is out. It's all confusing. It just feels like a double standard since other games can have both pages. The game was set to launch tomorrow on Meta, PC, and PSVR2 - but the PSVR2 version has now been delayed. I can’t share details, but let’s just say the reason for the delay is frustratingly dumb. It’s hard to understand why shovelware games are being approved with ease and have their store page up day 1, while projects like mine face all these obstacles. You can say my disappointment comes from this one. I don’t mean to offend anyone with this post, or attack PS. I’m simply heartbroken by what the PlayStation Store has become. I don’t know if I’ll be asked to take this down, but I believe there’s nothing wrong with speaking the truth. I love PlayStation - but I hope they can listen to the developers and gamers who care deeply about this platform and want to see it thrive again.