PlayStation 5 users were in for a surprise when they booted up their consoles yesterday. Many found their home screens displaying what appeared to be advertisements for games they already owned. The community was upset about the bug, to say the least, as players feared that Sony secretly introduced intrusive ads to their (paid for) home screen.
However, the truth was far less sinister. A PlayStation Product Manager quickly stepped in to clear the air, confirming that the issue was actually a bug in the system. The glitch caused the PS5 to pull old news updates from games and display them as background images on the home screen.
Some of these “ads” were comically outdated, promoting events that happened years ago. Imagine booting up your PS5 to see an announcement for a Halloween event from 2021—spooky, but not in the way Sony intended!
Sony acted swiftly, issuing a server-side update to squash the bug and an X post to calm the nerves. They reassured users that this was not a deliberate attempt to introduce advertisements, but rather an unintended glitch in the system.
The gaming community’s reaction was mixed and trust could not be fully restored yet. Some players in the community shared their concerns, believing this was a test run for more aggressive advertising strategies. Gamers are increasingly wary of intrusive advertising, especially on platforms they’ve already paid for.
For now, PS5 users can rest easy knowing their home screens won’t be bombarded with outdated news. Hopefully, it will stay this way.
