Thursday, 2 October 2025

Strange PS4 UI Update Leaves Players Concerned

PS4 update

Players are reporting a concerning new PS4 UI update that makes it look like they have downloaded games that they haven’t purchased. After booting up the console over the last week, some players were met with a new game tile, prompting them to panic, thinking that their PSN account had been hacked. Not quite.

Is Sony testing a new system for ads with PS4 UI update?

I have come across quite a few complaints about the issue. As seen in the screenshot below, the tile appears as a full game download, complete with a “Start” button.

But here’s the catch. This isn’t an actual game, and PSN accounts are not being hacked. This is an ad disguised as a game. Clicking the Start button leads players to the game’s page on the PS Store, where they are prompted to make a purchase. Clever.

Do note that this isn’t happening to all PS4 players, but we’ve seen enough reports to deduce that this isn’t an isolated issue.

Sony testing ads on PlayStation consoles is nothing new. Last year, there was quite a bit of hoopla when the PS5 started displaying unsolicited ads when connected to the internet, prompting a rare statement from Sony. The company called it a “bug,” but I’m personally having a hard time believing that.

Not only did the “bug” briefly reappear on the PS5 earlier this year, but the PS4 is now randomly displaying intrusive ads, which makes me think that Sony is testing a new system for displaying ads, possibly starting with the PS6.

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PS Plus Gets Stealth Drop of PS5, PS4 Ubisoft Game for October

PS Plus game

PS Plus Extra, Premium/Deluxe subscribers were surprised with a new PS5, PS4 game in their catalog this morning, thanks to Ubisoft. The publisher quietly added last year’s Monopoly game to ring in October 2025.

2024 Monopoly game added to Ubisoft+ Classics, available to PS Plus Extra, Premium members

Monopoly 2024 is now part of Ubisoft+ Classics lineup, which PS Plus Extra and Premium/Deluxe members have access to as part of their membership at no additional cost. The game’s rollout is being staggered.

At the time of this writing, Monopoly is available to subscribers in all of Asia, Australia/New Zealand, and Europe. The game has yet to become available in the Americas, and should appear in the region’s catalog around noon local time, when the PS Store updates.

Premium members can also directly stream the title, eliminating the need for a download.

Monopoly released in September 2024 and costs $29.99 on the PS Store without a PS Plus or stand-alone Ubisoft+ subscription. The game comes with 31 trophies, including the Platinum trophy, none of which seem too challenging.

As a reminder, Sony recently updated the list of games leaving PS Plus catalog in mid-October, adding two horror games to the departure list.

We’re now waiting for PS Plus Essential monthly free games next week, which will roll out on Tuesday, October 7.

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Wednesday, 1 October 2025

2024 PS5, PS4 Game Going Offline, Will Become Unplayable

PS5, PS4 game delisted

A 1-year-old PS5, PS4 game is scheduled to be delisted and taken offline, its publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced. PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs, which released in May 2024, will become unplayable after December 31, 2025.

PS5, PS4 game PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs will cease to exist

PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs will be pulled from the PS Store on November 1, 2025. Following this date, existing players will have until December 31 to wrap up trophies. There’s no word on a refund for the $19.99 game.

Bandai Namco also sold a $29.99 Deluxe Edition for Chomp Champs, and a quick search on the PS Store reveals a ton of add-ons.

The publisher didn’t say why it’s shutting the game down, but we’re guessing that it’s down to a lackluster reception and little player interest.

Developed by Amber Studio, Chomp Champs has a total of 33 trophies, including the Platinum trophy. Going by trophy data, very few players managed to unlock the Platinum.

“PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is an online-only PAC-MAN eating competition,” an official description reads. “Eat your way through multiple interconnected mazes using Power Pellets and a variety of Power Items to chomp the GHOSTS and opponent PAC-MAN players.”

Existing players still interested in obtaining the coveted Platinum trophy should head over to PSNProfiles, where they can join or host a boosting session with fellow gamers.

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PS4 System Update 13.02 Brings More Bad News for Some

PS4 system software update

Sony welcomed October 2025 with another PS4 system software update that coincides with a new PS5 firmware update. Firmware patch 13.02 also happens to be identical to what the PS5 received earlier today.

What does PS4 system software update for October 2025 do?

“We’ve made some security fixes to the system software,” Sony wrote. This is the same patch note that today’s PS5 system update came with.

In layman’s terms, Sony’s plugging vulnerabilities, and specifically in PS4’s case, it’s cracking down on jailbreaking. While the PS5 has yet to be hacked, the PS4 was jailbroken a long time ago and during the last generation, too. However, Sony continues to combat modders by rolling out security fixes that make it difficult to continue hacking the PS4.

PS4 also received a small firmware update in September, and although we suspect that it tackled exploits, Sony made no mention of any security fixes. The company claimed that the system software update targeted messaging and UI improvements.

While we don’t know what those improvements are, PS4 Pro players claimed that the console’s UI became smoother following last month’s update. We spotted quite a few comments from PS4 Pro owners who observed the same, so we’re not sure if we can chalk that up to Placebo Effect or not.

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PS5 System Update 25.06-12.02.00 Rolled Out for October 2025

PS5 / PS5 Pro system software update

Sony welcomed October 2025 with PS5 system software update 25.06-12.02.00 bright and early this morning. The update is rolling out worldwide now, and those who haven’t been prompted to update yet will receive a notification within the next few hours.

What does PS5 firmware update for October 1 do?

“We’ve made some security fixes to the system software,” read the lone patch note on Sony’s website, but we know exactly what this means.

The company is a step ahead of modders and jailbreakers this generation, and has made it impossible for the PS5 to be hacked thus far. The console is in the latter half of its life cycle, and for the first time in decades, no one has really been able to jailbreak it quite like its predecessors.

These “security fixes” that Sony speaks of are basically vulnerabilities that are being actively plugged. That said, the company does sometimes slip in changes that it doesn’t make known to the public, so if there’s anything more to the update, hawk-eyed players will bring it up sooner or later.

PS5 also received a system update in September, which brought some much-needed improvements for the DualSense controller alongside a new power saving mode.

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PlayStation Store Update Worldwide September 30, 2025

Each week Sony brings PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR, and PlayStation Plus owners new content, add-ons, games, and more. Here is the complete global PlayStation Store update. PlayStation LifeStyle catalogs the PlayStation Store updates for the major regions across the globe. Check back every Tuesday to keep up to date with each week’s PlayStation Store Update.

North American Update

September’s PlayStation Plus Essential Lineup

  • Psychonauts 2 (PS4)
  • Stardew Valley (PS4/PS Vita!!!)
  • Viewfinder (PS4/PS5)

PS4 & PS5 Games

  • Adventure Pinball Bundle
  • Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile
  • Airborne Justice
  • Airline Empire: Stewardess Simulator
  • Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition
  • Arcade Archives DACHOLER
  • Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian
  • Bad Cheese
  • Ball Blast
  • Beat Hazard Arcade
  • Bike Runner
  • Blacktop Hoops VR
  • Blitz Smash Ultimate
  • BOUNCY BREAD
  • Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection
  • Camp Life: Wilderness Survival 2025
  • Cladun X3
  • Climb Jump Obby Tower
  • Color Water Sort
  • CRYZON part1
  • Dead Reset
  • Demonschool
  • DOOMCRUSH
  • Drug Dealer: Schedule I
  • Electronics Puzzle Lab 2
  • Eternum EX
  • Exorcist: Survival Horror
  • Extremely Powerful Capybaras
  • FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles
  • For a few minutes
  • Grief like a stray dog
  • HELLCARD
  • HOTEL BARCELONA
  • The Jumping Strawberry – PS4 & PS5
  • LEGO® Party!
  • Liquid Cat
  • Mage Arena: Voicebound
  • Mamorukun ReCurse!
  • Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale
  • MOUTHOLE
  • Musical Vibes RX
  • Mystery Hotel: Hidden Objects
  • NBA BOUNCE
  • Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny
  • Night Detective: Decrepit Manor
  • Offer price, $3.49. Original price, $4.99.
  • Orchard Odyssey: Cherry Chase
  • The Order of the Snake Scale
  • PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC
  • Path of Legends
  • Pixicharm – Polar Outta Place
  • POLICE OFFICERS SIMULATOR
  • Project Drift Japan Challenge
  • Republic of Pirates
  • RollCats
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  • Schedule I – Drug Dealer
  • Shatterline
  • SILENT HILL f
  • Skater Bunny Simulator
  • Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
  • Stirring Tea Perfection
  • Strings Theory
  • Train Sim World 6
  • Tube Repairs
  • Van Life: Home on Wheels
  • Vending Machine Simulator 2025
  • Wild West Shooter
  • Wine Factory Simulator

Next Page: European Update

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