Did Sony pull this fan-favourite PS Vita game without notice?

(Image credit: Guerrilla Cambridge)

Sony has seemingly turned off the servers for Killzone: Mercenary without informing players ahead of time that the game was being shut down.

While there's no official word from Sony or developer Guerrilla confirming or denying the rumours either way, reports that the shooter couldn't connect to online matches popped up on social media a few days ago.  The shooter purportedly still boasts a surprisingly healthy player base.

Sony usually publicises server closures on its official website (thanks, Digital Trends), but at the time of writing, there's no indication that there were plans to shut down the servers. However, concerned players reached out to Sony support and report they were told that servers that support the game's online components have been terminated

"I was actually on support chat with Sony when I saw this post. I asked the rep, and he checked internally and confirmed they were shut down," explained one Redditor. 

Since then, players have been complaining that the abrupt cancellation means they can't complete efforts to secure the platinum trophy, whilst others complain that they've only just recently purchased the game. Indeed, at the time of writing, the game is still currently available to buy on the PS Store UK, which may suggest its an ongoing server issue rather than closure.

If it has been taken offline permanently, some players believe the lack of notice may violate Sony's own terms of service and are hoping to convince the company to reverse the decision or give them with the 90-day notice period usually provided. 

We've reached out to Sony for comment and will let you know just as soon as we hear back.

The PS Vita's best days might be behind it, but it's not the only handheld worth having. Here's our pick of the best Nintendo Switch games.

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Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, 12DOVE

Vikki Blake is 12DOVE's Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.