PlayStation has announced a new loyalty program called PlayStation Stars. The program, which launches this year, is free to join and allows players to earn special rewards for their efforts.

　　Players can complete "a variety of campaigns and activities" to earn loyalty points like unlocking specific trophies, winning tournaments, and being the first player to platinum a game in a local time zone. Beyond completing specific tasks and objectives, everyone who simply logs in and plays any game will receive an award for a given month.

　　Introducing PlayStation StarsLoyalty points can be redeemed for things like PSN wallet funds and some PlayStation Store products. While PlayStation Stars is free, members who subscribe to PS Plus automatically earn points for what they buy on the PlayStation Store.

　　PlayStation Stars also includes "digital collectibles" as a reward. These are digital versions of things like famous PlayStation characters and "cherished devices" from Sony's history. "There will always be a new collectible to earn, an ultra rare collectible to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun," Sony said.

　　The wording makes it sound like these collectibles might be NFTs, but they are not. "It's definitely not NFTs. Definitely not," PlayStation's Grace Chen told The Washington Post. "You can't trade them or sell them. It is not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs."

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　　Sony is now conducting "early tests" for PlayStation Stars before it launches for everyone later this year through a phased rollout program.

　　Microsoft has a loyalty program as well, called Microsoft Rewards, which allows players to unlock rewards by playing Xbox games.