Europeans to lose access to Studio Canal content bought through PlayStation

Sony will revoke access to digital downloads from Studio Canal in certain European countries, the company announced this past weekend.

"From September 1, 2026, due to our content licensing agreements, you will no longer be able to access your previously purchased content from Studio Canal, and it will be removed from your video library," the blog post reads.

Following that unfortunate news is a list of hundreds of movies and television shows that will soon be disappeared not only from the PlayStation Store but your own video library, including both small-budget sensations like Attack The Block and Hot Fuzz, beloved rom-coms like Bridget Jones' Diary and iconic action movies like Rambo and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Sony's announcement also did not include any word about refunds or compensation for the millions of people who thought they were purchasing a product when it turned out they were only leasing it. 

This isn't the first time a major media company has abruptly discontinued access to digital downloads. Hell, it's not even the first time Sony has done it; in fact, irate gamers have been pushing back against this trend for years, crying foul not only about the sneaky practice of retroactively removing purchased products from digital stores but also about the downstream effect of killing the second-hand market. Obviously, if all downloads are digitized, there will be no rifling through bargain bins of DVDs, Blu-rays, or game disks.

And while most games are still sold in both physical and digital formats, the most anticipated game of the year, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, recently announced it will be sold digitally only. Customers who purchase the game in-store will instead receive a physical box containing a download code.

Unsurprisingly, fans across the internet are reacting negatively to the news, especially because they understand a simple concept: when the biggest, best-selling, and most popular game does something, every other game is likely to follow suit.