Sony Interactive Entertainment is slowly removing the gift cards only usable for the PlayStation Now service, and the company will bring in another, more generic type in its place.

VentureBeat reported that Sony Interactive Entertainment had asked the retailers in the United Kingdom to pull all PlayStation Now subscription cards from store shelves by January 21. GAME, a leading retailer in the country, sent out the following memo earlier this week: “Stores have until the close of day Wednesday 19, January to remove all [point of sale] and [electronic software delivery] cards from all customer-facing areas and update their digital bays in line with this week’s upcoming commercial update.”

PlayStation Now is a subscription service that allows playing PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2 titles from the cloud. However, it is separate from the PlayStation Plus subscription, which means you effectively have to pay more to have both games from the cloud and online multiplayer. PlayStation Now costs 60 dollars annually. However, rumours claim things are about to change.

In December, Bloomberg reported that Sony Interactive Entertainment plans to introduce a new service, which would merge the existing PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now subscription plans. It could potentially provide access to a library of classic PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable titles on top of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. Recalling these cards in the United Kingdom hint at an upcoming announcement for the code-named Spartacus service. Bloomberg believes it could launch this Spring.

A Sony Interactive Entertainment spokesperson told VentureBeat: “Globally, we are moving from PlayStation Now gift cards to focus on our current cash denomination PlayStation gift cards, which can be redeemed for PlayStation Now.” It’s another hint at the upcoming service, and simplifying the gift cards makes sense: its administration would be easy.

Source: Gematsu