Sony has temporarily stopped selling games in China. The company took to social network Weibo to announce indefinite suspension of PlayStation Store China. The reason for the temporary closure is a “system security upgrade.”
Sony has not elaborated on the exact nature of the upgrade. However, it is likely related to recent reports of a backdoor allowing Chinese users to download unlicensed PlayStation games.
Sony launched PlayStation Store in China last year. Only 13 new games were licensed by the local regulators and allowed on the store in 2019. To circumvent the restrictions, gamers in mainland China reportedly used a backdoor to switch to overseas services and install unlicensed titles. According to Reuters, “some vendors were offering to crack the restrictions on PlayStation Store in China for a fee of less than US$5 on ecommerce platforms.”
At this point it’s unclear when PlayStation Store goes back online in China. Apparently, it’s not going to happen until Sony makes sure that PlayStation users in the country only have access to approved games.