Since I put out "We're going on tour" on June 23, 2026 and started the FULU tour, companies kept doing the same thing: sell you something, call it a purchase, then take it back or start charging rent for it. This is my running list, one line each with the source, so I have it on hand at every stop.
The four I already open with
- Sony again moved to strip Discovery shows out of the libraries of PlayStation users who had "purchased" them, the same clawback it pulled in 2023, announced in June 2026.[1] See Sony's attempted removal of "purchased" content.
- Sony is winding down physical media for PlayStation hardware, steering everyone into download-only libraries it can change or shut off.[2] See Sony discontinues physical media for PlayStation-brand hardwares.
- Speech Graphics shut off activation for its $1,000 FaceFX "lifetime" license and replaced it with a $35,000-a-year edition, saying a line in its terms of service let them do it.[3] See User:Louis/FaceFX perpetual license termination.
- Roost shut off its Wi-Fi water-leak and freeze detectors about a year before the end-of-life date it had promised owners, bricking hardware people bought.[4] See Roost Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector shutdown.
Purchases that got taken back
- Xbox pulled three games (Creepy Tale, Creepy Tale 2, and StrikeForce Kitty) out of the libraries of people who had already bought them on July 22, 2026, because the developer and publisher were fighting over money.[5] See Xbox removes purchased games from user libraries.
- Microsoft deleted a man's roughly 25-year-old account after it was hacked, wiping his paid Xbox game library and his family photos.[6] See Microsoft account deletion wipes purchased library.
- Bethesda shut down its mobile game The Elder Scrolls: Blades for good on June 30, 2026.[7]
- Amazon shut down the old Kindle for PC app on June 30, 2026, the app people used to download Kindle books onto their own computer.[8]
Bought it once, now pay every month
- Meta put a hearing-aid-style feature that runs on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses themselves behind a $20-a-month subscription on July 2, 2026, and capped everyone else at three hours a month.[9]
- Samsung said on June 26, 2026 that it will charge regular people $4.99 a month for SmartThings API access, so Home Assistant users have to pay just to keep controlling the devices in their own homes.[10]
- Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac stops letting you edit or save your own documents on July 13, 2026, when a certificate baked into the app expires and drops it to read-only.[11][12]
- MYOB switched off offline mode in its AccountRight accounting software on June 17, 2026, so books people saved on their own computers no longer open unless they move everything to MYOB's cloud and pay for a subscription.[13]
Bricked or downgraded by an update
- A Philips Hue firmware update in June 2026 permanently killed some Hue Bridge Pro hubs, and because that hub has no backup, a replacement starts empty and every light and automation has to be set up from scratch.[14] See Philips Hue firmware update bricks Hue Bridge Pro.
Where the pushback landed
- The European Commission answered the 1.29 million-signature Stop Killing Games campaign on June 16, 2026 and refused to require publishers to keep games playable after they stop selling them.[15]
- The FTC and five states settled with John Deere on July 8, 2026, forcing Deere to give farmers and independent shops the same repair software it gives its own dealers.[16]
- A Brazilian court ordered Microsoft to restore a gamer's closed account and full digital library and pay about $400, after Microsoft said its only option was to permanently suspend the account.[17] See Microsoft account deletion wipes purchased library.
References
- ↑ "Sony pulls purchased content again". Louis Rossmann (YouTube).
- ↑ "Sony stops providing physical games". Louis Rossmann (YouTube).
- ↑ "Speech Graphics terminates a lifetime license". Louis Rossmann (YouTube).
- ↑ "Roost kills its leak sensors a year early". Louis Rossmann (YouTube).
- ↑ "3 Xbox Games Have Been Completely Shut Down, Removed from Owners' Libraries". Game Rant. 2026-07-22.
- ↑ "Microsoft Deletes Xbox Player's 25-Year-Old Account, Erasing Digital Game Library". Vice. 2026-07-14.
- ↑ "Bethesda is shutting down The Elder Scrolls: Blades on June 30". Engadget. 2026-03-29.
- ↑ "Amazon Pulling the Plug on Kindle for PC on June 30th". The eBook Reader Blog. 2026-04-16.
- ↑ "Meta glasses get premium features and usage limits". 9to5Google. 2026-07-02.
- ↑ "Samsung Puts $5 Monthly Fee on SmartThings API Access". TechBuzz. 2026-06-26.
- ↑ "Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac Will Soon Stop Letting You Edit Documents". MacRumors. 2026-06-02.
- ↑ "Office 2019 for Mac Goes Read-Only on 13 July 2026". TidBITS. 2026-06-01.
- ↑ "MYOB AccountRight Offline Mode Ending 2026". Plus 1 Group.
- ↑ "Firmware update may cause the Hue Bridge Pro to stop working". Hueblog. 2026-06-29.
- ↑ "The European Commission's reply to the 'Stop Destroying Videogames' European Citizens' Initiative". European Citizens' Initiative. 2026-06-16.
- ↑ "FTC, States Secure Settlement with Deere & Company, Advancing Farmers' Right to Repair". Federal Trade Commission. 2026-07-08.
- ↑ "Xbox gamer wins lawsuit against Microsoft to restore account and digital library". Engadget. 2026-07-12.