Ukrainian development studio Ternox has announced that its text-based adventure Stonks-9800: Stock Market Simulator cannot release on PlayStation 5. The developer was informed by Sony that its publishing account is being terminated and its entire catalogue will be purged from the PS Store in the coming days.
The action falls under Sony's broader efforts to remove shovelware from the PlayStation virtual storefront. However, Ternox's catalogue includes titles with user scores exceeding 4.00 on the PS Store, such as the pixel art dungeon crawler Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes, the Super Hang-On clone Retro Highway, the 1-bit shooter Unichrome: A 1-Bit Unicorn Adventure, and the touchpad-enabled idle clicker Fox's Zen House.
Impact on Players and Developer
For players tracking the title on console, the PS5 launch is officially cancelled. Stonks-9800 has maintained an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating on Steam since entering Early Access in 2023, based on over 1,000 player reviews. While the game will no longer reach PlayStation hardware, Ternox confirmed it remains committed to launching the title on Nintendo Switch and Xbox.
What Remains Unknown
Ternox stated that it has not received a specific reason from Sony for the termination of its publishing account or the removal of its games beyond the platform holder's ongoing storefront guidelines enforcement. Whether individual titles met specific criteria—such as the adaptive trigger design in Finger Fitness—remains unconfirmed by the platform holder.