The servers for the PlayStation Vita’s Killzone: Mercenary were shut down without warning, taking offline a relatively vibrant player base for a seven-year-old game.
Killzone: Mercenary, widely considered one of the best PlayStation Vita games, was released in 2013 exclusively for the portable console. The shooter offers bite-sized missions perfect for on-the-go gaming, but its online multiplayer mode made it one of the best entries on the PlayStation Vita.
Unfortunately, it appears that Killzone: Mercenary‘s servers have been suddenly shut down, eliminating the game’s online multiplayer capabilities. A thread on the PlayStation Vita subreddit revealed players found difficulty in accessing the servers, while a separate thread confirmed the server shutdown. A Redditor who goes by the name u/MisterMagellan claimed that a Sony support representative said the servers have been taken offline.
Shutting down the servers of a 2013 title is not unheard of, but the remaining players of Killzone: Mercenary are in an uproar because there was no prior announcement. In comparison, Sony gave players of 2014’s Driveclub for the PlayStation 4 a full year before closing the racing game’s servers and eliminating all its online features.
Killzone: Mercenary players are now attempting to get the game’s servers back online, claiming that the sudden closure may be a breach of the terms of service. It remains unclear, however, if there will be enough clamor to revive the servers of a seven-year-old game on a discontinued console.
Long live the PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita, which was launched in the U.S. in early 2012, officially ended production in 2019 after seven years of struggling to reach the same success as its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable. The console, however, released gems such as Persona 4 Golden, Gravity Rush, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Fans of the PlayStation Vita hoping for another attempt by Sony at the handheld gaming market should not hold their breath, as Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan has said that there are no plans for a successor to the portable console.
The PlayStation Vita community, meanwhile, is still very much alive, despite the dominance of the Nintendo Switch in the portable console scene.
