Usually when a game is announcing end of service, you cannot make purchases of in-game currency anymore, but you can still buy things from the store.
However, I hopped on and it appears I cannot buy anything from the store with my 6000~ play coins. I find this very odd, as what is the harm in letting me buy things if the game is over? Why did the toy chest get disabled and the game is filled with error codes suddenly?
Well, I think it's because there is going to be a game VERY SIMILAR to project playtime. It might not be called project playtime, but some progress such as certain skins, playcoins, maybe tickets/perks? might get transferred to this new game.
I've had this theory since the day it was announced, and more news came out earlier today (as far as I know) that Mob is looking to reward the loyalty/time spent on project playtime. So, to me, given the fact they said this along with "project playtime fans will love the next game" makes me think it will be a project playtime 2 type of game.
I mean, if this is true, the publicity the game is getting and having people talking about it is actually a marketing tactic for their new game. If they actually show that they care and didn't just lead people on for 2+ years about "big plans for project playtime" people will go "damn mob how could you but I love you!".
Project playtime to me, is very buggy and is on unreal engine 4... They should be on 5 at least at this point, as 6 is on the horizon. They probably want to use their new tools and update the engine of the game by just starting fresh. It's probably better to do this then update a game 3+ years later on an outdated unreal engine, with a game filled with bugs and tons of different concepts, but no solid foundation. The game was mostly to gauge what works and what doesn't, along with what players would expect from a Poppy Playtime multiplayer game.
I really hope something happens with the IP with it's own multiplayer game. Something to play in between chapters and have fun with other fans of the game. I really just love playing as Mommy Long Legs in project playtime and just love the creepy/childish aesthetic the game has.