Sony has announced a surprise new initiative called PlayStation Stars, a free-to-join reward scheme for gamers that it says will launch later this year.

The membership scheme will let players collect rewards by taking part in campaigns and events, playing regularly and earning trophies.

These rewards might be points towards purchases on the PlayStation Store, digital collectibles (that are not NFTs or in any way linked to a Blockchain, it's been confirmed), and more.

While checking in and playing at least one game monthly will keep you active, Sony supplied the example of being the first player to earn a platinum trophy in a given region on a game as potentially earning a unique reward.

That sounds like a promising idea, and it's all quite reminiscent of Nintendo's system of Gold Points, similarly awarded for buying games and playing them, although PlayStation Stars would be more involved.

For those who play a whole bunch it's likely to be a potentially welcome bonus on top, while those who aren't as engaged might find it a useful prompt to keep playing every so often.

We don't yet have a firm launch date for PlayStation Stars, but with a launch coming later this year according to the blog post announcing it, we'd imagine we'll find out more in the next few months.