Ukrainian indie studio Ternox Games has announced that Sony terminated its PlayStation developer and publisher agreement without providing any reason, effectively blocking a PS5 release of its hit stock market simulator STONKS-9800 and scheduling the removal of all 13 of the studio's PlayStation Store titles by August 23. If you follow Insider Trading or similar stock-market-themed games, this situation is worth watching closely.
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How a 97% positive Steam hit got locked out of PlayStation
STONKS-9800 launched in Steam Early Access back in 2023, pairing '80s anime aesthetics with stock market simulation mechanics. The game crossed 100,000 sales this March and currently sits at an overwhelmingly positive rating, with 97% of user reviews positive. That kind of reception would typically make a console port a straightforward business decision.
Ternox had been targeting a 2027 PS5 release, with plans to produce a physical disc edition. Neither will happen now.
Posting on X on August 16, the studio wrote: "Sony unilaterally terminated my PlayStation developer and publisher agreement without giving me any reason. My existing games are scheduled to be removed from the PlayStation Store after August 23."
The post continued: "PlayStation support refuses to listen to my arguments or even respond to my emails in any way."
Thirteen games disappearing from the PlayStation Store
Ternox has released and published 13 titles on PlayStation consoles over the past five years, several of which were developed by other indie studios and published under the Ternox label. All 13 are now set for removal:
- Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes
- Finger Fitness
- Retro Highway
- Unichrome: A 1-Bit Unicorn Adventure
- O-VOID: Console Edition
- Run & Jump Guy
- Scrap Divers
- Fox's Zen House
- Boned Again: Survivors
- Dungeonloop
- IN-VERT
- Taimumari: Complete Edition
- Bullet Beat
For the developers whose games Ternox published, this is a particularly rough outcome. Ternox acknowledged as much directly: "I'm really sorry that this happened and that I failed the developers whose games I published. But there's nothing I can do about it now, unfortunately."
The shovelware theory and an unfortunate coincidence
Sony has been quietly tightening its standards for what gets onto the PlayStation Store, with an ongoing push to remove low-quality releases that have accumulated over the years. Some observers have suggested Ternox's library may have been swept up in that cleanup despite not fitting the shovelware description, a case of collateral damage from a broader policy action.
There is also a notable coincidence in the timeline. Ternox posted a joke about physical media the day after Sony announced that disc-based games will be discontinued for PlayStation consoles starting January 2028. The developer does not believe the two events are connected, and there is no evidence suggesting they are, but the timing has not gone unnoticed.
What is clear is that Sony has not communicated a reason to the developer at any point, which leaves Ternox, and the indie studios whose games it published, with no path to appeal or resolution.
Where STONKS-9800 goes from here
Ternox confirmed that Switch and Xbox releases for STONKS-9800 are still on track. The physical edition the developer had hoped to produce for PS5 will instead be pursued for PC and Switch, assuming those plans hold.
"I still have a tiny bit of hope that this decision will be reconsidered, so please share this message if you can," the developer wrote.
The situation puts a spotlight on how much leverage platform holders have over small studios, particularly when agreements can be terminated without explanation or recourse. For players interested in the stock market sim genre, the Insider Trading strategy guides at GAMES.GG cover mechanics across similar titles while the PS5 situation for STONKS-9800 plays out. Broader coverage of the indie space, including how platform disputes affect smaller developers, is tracked across our gaming guides hub.
