Have you heard about the Accolades feature on PS5? We do not. So it’s really no surprise that Sony has dispensed with it.
The feature was initially designed for players to send anonymous messages that complement their fellow players in a well-played multiplayer match. Players can send badges to each other to thank them for ‘helping’, ‘welcome’, ‘good sport’ or a good ‘leader’.
Was it a positive experience playing with someone online? Sony explained at the launch of the feature, show them your appreciation by sending them a badge.
Sounds like a nice thing to do right? Well, being nice is not something we often associate with online multiplayer games, and as such, the feature has hardly been used. Sony is removing the feature this fall, but the company still wants gamers to express positivity toward each other in other ways.
“In Fall 2022, Accolades will no longer be supported on PlayStation 5,” Sony says on an updated support page. “The feature has not seen the level of usage we expected, so we are refocusing our efforts. We encourage the community to continue sending positive messages to each other.”
However, just saying that the players are not kind to each other would undermine the real reason why they are behaving in the way of the dodo. This feature was hardly announced by Sony and few gamers actually know about it. Prizes are not supported by all games and do not normally apply to games that include cross-platform games.
However, Sony isn’t just ruling out features. There’s a new PS5 beta in the wild, which offers games at 1440p resolution. This is ideal for gamers who use dedicated monitors to power the PS5, rather than a living room TV. Sony is also adding a feature called Gamelists, which are basically app folders for different game genres and styles. When the new software is released, users will also be able to request screen sharing from other players. We’ll let you know when it drops for everyone.