Sony has confirmed that it will remove 551 movies and TV series from PlayStation Store customer libraries on September 1, 2026, because a licensing agreement with content provider Studio Canal has expired. Affected customers will not receive refunds.
The titles include major films such as the John Wick series, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall, Rambo, Apocalypse Now, Hot Fuzz, Moonlight, Paddington, Free Willy, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and Pan’s Labyrinth. The deletion applies to PlayStation customers in the UK, where the licensing agreement lapsed.
“From September 1, 2026, due to our content licensing agreements, you will no longer be able to access your previously purchased content from Studio Canal, and it will be removed from your video library,” Sony wrote on its UK legal notices page.
The move is the latest and most stark reminder that digital purchases are closer to long-term rentals than true ownership. Despite paying the same or more than a physical disc, customers receive a revocable license that can be rescinded when business agreements change.
This is not Sony’s first such deletion. In 2023, the company removed more than 1,300 seasons of Discovery TV shows from customer libraries after a licensing dispute. In 2022, it deleted 314 movies in Germany and 137 in Austria. Each time, the pattern is the same: the license ends, the content vanishes, and the customer absorbs the loss.
The announcement lands in the same week Sony confirmed it will end physical game disc production in 2028 and close the PS3 and PS Vita stores in 2027 — a one-two punch that underscores the fragility of digital media ownership. For collectors who still hold VHS tapes, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, each new deletion is a painful reminder that physical media remains the only format providers cannot reach into your home and take back.
Sources: Sony Erases Digital Content From Libraries (Wired/Ars Technica, July 3, 2026); Sony deleting 551 movies and TV shows you bought on PlayStation (TechSpot, June 28, 2026)