Certain PlayStation Games Are "Expiring" And Becoming Completely Unplayable

A number of classic PlayStation games appear to be expiring on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, effectively becoming completely unplayable for those who purchased the game through Sony's digital storefront.

As Kotaku reported over the weekend, a growing number of PlayStation users have shared their experience on social media. They all tell a similar story, revealing that certain of their games have become mysteriously inaccessible thanks to previously undisclosed "expiration dates" having come into effect.

One user, upon attempting to redownload the classic version of Chrono Cross (not the recent remaster) was told that his license to play the game had expired on December 31... 1969. A second player received the exact same message when trying to access the game via PlayStation 3.

Some users initially accused Square Enix of orchestrating the move to push sales of the recently released Chrono Cross remaster, it soon become clear that the issue is far more widespread.

At the time of writing, affected games include Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Rune Factory: Oceans, and War Of The Lions. One Vita user claimed that their entire digital library of games had vanished, although they found success in regaining access by refreshing their PlayStation Plus subscription - a method that hasn't quite worked for everyone, sadly.

Others in the Vita community have confirmed to have found no issues whatsoever in downloading their old games, although certain games do appear to have been removed from the store.

There's no word yet from Sony as to what could have caused this strange issue, nor is there a universal fix as of right now. We'll update this story as soon as Sony shares official word on the matter.