Sony Is Already Retiring Accolades, a PS5 Launch Feature [IGN]

Sony will be retiring PS5’s Accolades feature later this year, as players have not used the awards-based system as much as the company anticipated when it was unveiled at launch.

As reported by TheSixthAxis, Sony announced in a statement that they would be pulling the plug on the Accolades feature in the coming months because uptake has been low amongst PS5 users.

“In fall of 2022, the Accolades feature on PlayStation 5 will no longer be supported,” the statement read. “The feature hasn’t seen the level of usage we anticipated, so we are refocusing our efforts. We encourage the community to continue to send positive messages to one another.”

Accolades were initially introduced to foster a more positive gaming experience and bring the community together by encouraging players to send one of three Accolades (Helpful, Welcoming, or Good Sport) to a fellow gamer based on their performance in an online multiplayer match.

Players could then see how many Accolades they had racked up by looking at their PSN profiles. Unfortunately, it looks as those players weren’t all that interested in the option.

Sony’s been adding new features elswhere, with the PlayStation Stars scheme announced last month. PlayStation Stars is a new loyalty programme that will allow players to earn points that can be redeemed on the PlayStation store or for other rewards.

The programme will mark another upgrade to Sony’s digital offerings as it recently introduced new PlayStation Plus tiers. While the basic tier is more or less the same as the previous PlayStation Plus, the middle and most expensive tiers offer hundreds of extra games in a service similar to Xbox Game Pass.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.