Abstract:
Recently, game industry media HighChaosRun broke the news that PlayStation India has blacklisted several media outlets and restricted their access to game review qualifications due to some media reports on the "imminent demise of physical discs".
According to HighChaosRun, many media previously quoted an investigative report released by the website on July 7, 2026. The report pointed out that PlayStation quietly advanced the plan to eliminate physical discs without informing publishers and business partners. Subsequently, when these media applied to PlayStation India for review rights to the recent new game "Marvel Fighting Soul" and future masterpieces "Marvel Wolverine" and "Shadow Blade Zero", they were informed that they had been blacklisted.
According to the report, the marketing personnel of PlayStation India even directly named HighChaosRun and its author, saying that the relevant reports had damaged the company's image, and accused the media of doing this to "gain eyeballs."
In addition to restricting media access, PlayStation India has also been accused of taking more radical measures. Some media outlets claimed that they were blocked on WhatsApp by the company's PR agency, a move that was allegedly carried out on PlayStation's instructions. Considering that the Indian communication environment is highly dependent on WhatsApp, this approach has been criticized as "ridiculous".
HighChaosRun pointed out in the report that the company had given PlayStation India up to five days to respond before publishing the previous investigative report, but did not receive any response. The author said that he had long expected to be blacklisted, and described PlayStation India as "the most insecure publisher in the Indian market" despite its almost monopoly position there.
The report also mentioned that about a year ago, PlayStation threatened to "blacklist" Indian content creators because they reported leaked information related to PS6, but eventually gave up due to outside intervention. Now similar incidents have occurred again, raising concerns about media independence and industry transparency.
HighChaosRun emphasized that being responsible to the audience and keeping reports honest is the right way to promote the progress of the game industry. Attempting to maintain image by suppressing fair reporting will make companies appear to be "hiding something." As of press time, PlayStation and Sony have not yet issued an official response to this incident.
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