LittleBigPlanet 3’s PlayStation 4 servers have gone offline “indefinitely”, erasing millions of user-created levels.
The LittleBigPlanet series’ official X / Twitter account confirmed the news, briefly addressing why the game’s servers initially got taken offline back in January of this year.
“Due to ongoing technical issues which resulted in LittleBigPlanet 3 servers for PS4 being taken offline temporarily in January 2024,” the post reads, “the decision has been made to keep the servers offline indefinitely. All online services including access to other players’ creations for LittleBigPlanet 3 are no longer available.”
The post does, however, go on to confirm that user-created content downloaded to PlayStation 4 consoles will remain playable. Players can still create their own content but won’t be able to share it. Lastly, LittleBigPlanet 3’s offline features – including its campaign mode – are still playable.
An important message from us regarding the LittleBigPlanet servers and online features: pic.twitter.com/QLweKxvD3sApril 19, 2024
This is, effectively, something of a final nail in the coffin for the LittleBigPlanet series. PS3 servers for the original trilogy have been offline for a number of years, and now the PS4 servers for the third game have followed suit. Series fans can still check out the excellent Sackboy: A Big Adventure on PS5 if they’re after some of that LittleBigPlanet charm, though it does lack the creative features that put the franchise on the map.
Naturally, folks on social media aren’t happy with the decision, criticizing Sony’s decision while also sharing fond memories of playing and creating levels throughout the series. It is incredibly disheartening to see millions upon millions of lovingly created levels disappear forever, which I’m sure many fond memories are attached to.
Until we have better protections in place for digital content, it’s pretty much a certainty that more large-scale server shutdowns will occur in the near future. LittleBigPlanet 3 is just one of many examples in recent years.