LittleBigPlanet3's servers will remain "offline indefinitely"
"I'm on my knees right now. Make LittleBigPlanet4."
Sony has confirmed LittleBigPlanet 3's servers will remain "offline indefinitely".
The servers were taken down in January, although it was hoped at the time that it would be a "temporary" situation.
Now, however, "ongoing technical issues" mean the servers will not be coming back online and all online services – including access to other players' creations – "are no longer available".
"Due to ongoing technical issues which resulted in the LittleBigPlanet 3 servers for PS4 being taken offline temporarily in January 2024, the decision has been made to keep the servers offline indefinitely. All online services including access to other players' creations for LittleBigPlanet are no longer available," the company announced on LittleBigPlanet's social media accounts.
"User-generated content (UGC) stored locally on your PS4 will remain available. Any new UGC you create can be played on your PS4 but not shared. Offline features such as the campaign will remain playable."
Whilst the news seemed inevitable to some, others have shared their made their dismay at the decision.
"Damn, that's all we get? A tweet?" said one respondent. "Countless hours spent by the whole community to make tens of millions of levels that are now completely gone to be forgotten about, and all we get is a one-sentence-long tweet."
"Are there plans to address the completion limitations as a result of this?" asked another. "For instance, platinum trophies are no longer obtainable for this title. If you can't fix the 'ongoing technical issues', is there any interest in disclosing what those issues even are?"
"I'm on my knees [right now]," pleaded another player. "Make LittleBigPlanet4."
In a follow-up statement, the LittleBigPlanet3 team added: "We obviously share today's news with very heavy hearts and thank you for your continued love and support over the years."
Sony also permanently shut down the online services for older LittleBigPlanet games "to protect the LittleBigPlanet community" back in 2021. In a statement at the time, Sony said online services for LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS3), and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita had to be taken offline for good after a long period of downtime.