Documented cases where consumers lost — or nearly lost — access to digital media they paid for. Every profile lists its sources.
In July 2025 Microsoft ended movie and TV purchases and rentals on the Microsoft Store across Windows and Xbox. Previously purchased content remains watchable — and still downloadable on Windows — but locked to Microsoft's apps, with no refunds.
Nintendo closed the 3DS and Wii U eShops on March 27, 2023, ending all new purchases. Previously bought titles remain re-downloadable "for the foreseeable future," a commitment with no stated end date.
Google announced in September 2022 that Stadia would shut down, and service ended January 18, 2023. Google refunded all Stadia game, add-on, and hardware purchases — the most complete platform-shutdown restitution on record.
In March 2021 Sony announced it would close the PlayStation Store on PS3, PS Vita, and PSP. After public backlash, Sony reversed the decision for PS3 and Vita; the PSP store's purchase functionality ended in July 2021.
UltraViolet, the studio-backed digital movie locker holding rights records for tens of millions of accounts, shut down on July 31, 2019. Users who linked their libraries to participating retailers kept access; entitlements not linked elsewhere were lost.
Microsoft closed the books category of the Microsoft Store in 2019. Because the books used DRM tied to Microsoft's servers, every purchased ebook stopped working in July 2019. Microsoft issued full automatic refunds.