If you’re not using PlayStation Stars, you’re missing out

I wouldn’t blame you if you forgot PlayStation Stars existed. In fact, I would guess the majority of people out there have no idea what that even is, but PlayStation’s reward program deserves more attention than it’s getting.

Launched in the summer of 2022, PlayStation Stars is a program meant to reward players for engaging with the PlayStation ecosystem. You can take on challenges to earn digital collectibles and, more importantly, coins that can be redeemed for games, store credit, and some premium in-game currencies.

It’s fairly standard as a rewards system. Yet two years after its launch, Stars still feels like an afterthought that’s yet to be fully integrated into the PlayStation ecosystem. If you’re a regular PlayStation player and aren’t in the Stars program, you could be missing out on a ton of free goodies. That’s not entirely your fault, though, and the program is long overdue for some changes.

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Shine bright

The major thorn in PlayStation Stars’ side is access. The only way to take advantage of any of the program’s functions is through the PlayStation app. Two years ago, this seemed like a sort of slow rollout for the program — let people who are dedicated enough to follow PlayStation test it out, then make it more widely available and prominent on consoles. Two years later, nothing has changed.

The process of accumulating any form of reward remains checking the app for a campaign you want to do, accepting it in the app, going over to your console to complete the task, and then returning to the app to see or redeem any rewards. It’s a cumbersome process that goes against the entire point of a rewards program — rewarding players for staying in your ecosystem.

Most of the campaigns that reward players with coins, which can be exchanged for store credit, ask audiences to buy a