The demise of LittleBigPlanet 3’s servers is a harsh blow to fans of community-driven platformers, arriving just after the closure of Wii U’s Super Mario Maker support. While Nintendo aficionados had time to bid farewell to their beloved game, the abrupt end of LittleBigPlanet caught many off guard.
In 2021, all LittleBigPlanet servers went offline amid a wave of hacks flooding players with inappropriate content. Later that year, LittleBigPlanet 3 was reinstated online, becoming the sole gateway for fans to access 16 years’ worth of community-created levels dating back to the original 2008 title. Then, in January 2024, developers announced a temporary shutdown of LittleBigPlanet 3’s servers.
Sadly, what was deemed temporary has now become permanent. “Due to ongoing technical issues leading to the temporary shutdown of LittleBigPlanet 3’s PS4 servers in January 2024, the decision has been made to keep the servers offline indefinitely,” the developers shared in a tweet. “All online services, including access to other players’ creations for LittleBigPlanet 3, are no longer available.”
This marks an unceremonious end to a 16-year legacy of community content. While server shutdowns are understandable from a business perspective, they are nonetheless distressing for game preservation. The timing brings to mind the Super Mario Maker closure, which allowed for a memorable community effort due to ample advance notice.
Meanwhile, LittleBigPlanet—a more comprehensive creation engine predating Mario Maker by years—fades away quietly. Some community members report that resource servers housing levels and other player content are still online, albeit inaccessible without game servers. Despite this, a glimmer of hope remains among fans that these levels may return someday. Personally, I’m optimistic for a LittleBigPlanet revival in the future, but I can’t shake the feeling that this truly marks the end for one of PlayStation’s greatest games.