One of PlayStation 4's more unique features is Communities, a social system whereby you can find groups of like-minded players to talk to and play with. Sony introduced the feature to the console back in 2015, so it's part of the PS4 furniture for many users. Unfortunately, it seems the number of active users isn't high enough to keep the lights on — the platform holder is closing down Communities.
We kind of knew this was coming. Recently, Sony began sending out invitations to a new PS4 firmware beta test, and one of the listed changes is the removal of Communities. Before that, the company shut down the Communities app for smart devices. It seems Sony has been intending to wind down the feature for some time, and now it's about to pull the plug.
From April 2021, Communities will no longer be available — that's according to an official communication on PlayStation's website. It's a shame for those that use the feature to stay in touch with others; we know the Push Square Communities page has remained relatively active through the years.
Of course, you aren't short of options for communicating with your pals; the social features on PS4 and PS5 mean you can obviously still message people and share media. Will you miss Communities on PS4? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source playstation.com, via gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 33
It's sort of a shame - though I only ever interacted to checked the Push Square community and even then not regularly... so it is easy to see why it is going!
It was a nice feature, but I didn't use it nearly enough. It seems like it was the same for most people.
Used it a few times but as the novelty wore of just sent messages normally. So understandable it's getting cut if not many people use it.
Farewell, Push Square Community! Thanks to everyone who took part and kept it active over the years!
That kinda sucks but tbh I used the feature exactly 0 times in all my years with PlayStation...
I used it for a while for trading in Rocket League.
I hope PS5 added Communities Feature
Boooo this kinda sucks. I barely used it, but it was fun every now and then.
Used it all the time to find groups for Hunt: Showdown and Predator Hunting grounds. Honestly communities have been dead though since the change in messaging and voice chat last year where you can no longer just join a PlayStation party unless you’re specifically invited.
I got an Email about it earlier...
Thank you for using the Communities feature on your PlayStation®4 console. Beginning in April 2021, this feature will no longer be supported or available on your PS4™ console.
However, you will still be able to stay connected and enjoy messaging features and more on your PS4™ console and PlayStation®App.
Oh no? I wasn't a ps4 guy (i had xbox) but even on Xbox I didn't join clubs/communities but I bet this is sad for anyone in the push square community!
I hardly use it anymore so I don't think it will effect me as much when it's gone in April
And nothing of value was lost. I did have a kinda successful community in Mature Gamer Alliance but it was hardly used almost 1k in members but only hand full ever chatted. But i did move it to forum base/Discord
I only use it for Monster Hunter World Iceborne but now that I finish getting everything and the next game is coming I don’t use it anymore so I’m glad I got to used it when I need it, but sucks for anyone that still use it
Actually I never found its interface user friendly, or simply comfortable.
No wonder it wasn't popular. Why would it be?
@BAMozzy Yeah, I got this yesterday. It confused me at first, and yes, I didn't use this feature at all.
Never used it, yet played my PS4 3/4 times a week ever since launch. Don’t think Sony put enough effort into it.
Communities were useful when I needed to find people attempting same online trophies as I was. So thanks to all the random who have helped me out over the years. Guess I will be using PS forums from here on out.
I feel like PS is getting less and less about be social. I really miss the feed from the PS4 crossbar on PS5, it was nice to scroll around and see what people had achieved in games. And not with the removal of communities, they are taking it a step further. Granted, it doesn't seem that many people used it, but it was super useful when you did want to find a quick group to play with for certain MP games.
This is a shame as I only joined one two weeks ago.
Gonna miss looking at cool pics and sharing discoveries from out in the black in the Elite Dangerous community I joined.
Sometimes when looking for Games you would be presented with a Video or Screenshots.....to give the purchaser a visual feast on how that game would look...................Also another option was Communities click on it and you would be taken to live streams of that pacific game or recorded streams................Now I would only use this option if the Trailer would not load and what I found usefull was on the live streams you could ask questions about the game..............yes I know you can do all that on yutoob but it was a nice option to have while your browsing the PS Store on my console......Sony streamlining again I see.
It was useful feature to find similar minded players for the games you love. I am in several of them, one being ps4trophyhunters (now ps5) so generally speaking it is a loss for Sony.
Petition
http://chng.it/qQHzYzH9
Never opened it. Hope icon be removed.
I was a member of 3 communities, none of which saw any activity in over a year before I removed myself from them. Presumably, that was a fairly typical snapshot, hence the decision to remove them.
It's difficult to type on ps4 without a keyboard, so I see why it isn't super popular. Shame about the phone one, but I suppose everyone is using Discord and Reddit when not looking on news sites like PushSquare
This is sad. It was one of my favorite features and helped me get a bunch of new friends.
Didn't use it much personally, but I have noticed that it's popular with younger people. So Sony are probably being a bit hasty in ditching it.
I used to post in it somewhat frequently, but it's been a long while now since I did.
Just like with the browser, many people here will say that they didn't use it, well screw you then, I used it, it ain't my problem that you guys didn't find the need to use it.
Now how in the hell am I going to ask people to party with me in Paladins?, or to find a suitable opponent for me to play against in Guilty Gear xrd rev 2 ?
It was very useful to recruit new members for guilds and alliances in certain games.
I assume it's because of usage they are getting rid or they have a better feature coming maybe. But what did it cost to run probably nothing really I'm not sure why they are getting rid of it apart from cost or usage, but not sure why it was a problem not to keep
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