Game Developers Stopping PS4 Game Releases Meme

This is a single-panel illustrated meme set against a solid red background. It features two stylized drawn characters: the left character is labeled 'GAME DEVELOPERS', an angry woman who is shouting, and metaphorically spitting sharp knives from her mouth at the right character. The right character is labeled 'PS4 OWNERS', a man who is visibly injured, bleeding from multiple knife wounds to his chest, clutching one of the embedded knives with a pained, upset expression. The speech bubble from the game developer character reads 'WE WILL NO LONGER RELEASE GAMES ON 13 YEAR OLD HARDWARE THAT HAS HAD A SUCCESSOR FOR 5 YEARS!'. The joke uses a violent metaphor to represent how PlayStation 4 owners feel personally attacked and harmed by video game developers choosing to phase out support for the aging PS4 console, after its successor the PS5 has been available for 5 years and the PS4 hardware is 13 years old.

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WE WILL NO LONGER RELEASE GAMES ON 13 YEAR OLD HARDWARE THAT HAS HAD A SUCCESSOR FOR 5 YEARS!

Overview

This is a single-panel illustrated meme set against a solid red background. It features two stylized drawn characters: the left character is labeled 'GAME DEVELOPERS', an angry woman who is shouting, and metaphorically spitting sharp knives from her mouth at the right character. The right character is labeled 'PS4 OWNERS', a man who is visibly injured, bleeding from multiple knife wounds to his chest, clutching one of the embedded knives with a pained, upset expression. The speech bubble from the game developer character reads 'WE WILL NO LONGER RELEASE GAMES ON 13 YEAR OLD HARDWARE THAT HAS HAD A SUCCESSOR FOR 5 YEARS!'. The joke uses a violent metaphor to represent how PlayStation 4 owners feel personally attacked and harmed by video game developers choosing to phase out support for the aging PS4 console, after its successor the PS5 has been available for 5 years and the PS4 hardware is 13 years old.

Origin notes

This meme originates from the Reddit platform, shared in gaming-focused meme communities. Its original posted title is 'They can't do that. Shoot them or something!'. It references the mid-2020s industry trend of video game developers discontinuing releases for the PlayStation 4 console, as the hardware is well over a decade old and the PlayStation 5 has been on the market for multiple years, leading to frustration among players who have not yet upgraded to the newer console.