playstation name change

PSN Name Changes Are Finally Coming

The day we had only dreamed about is finally upon us. The long-fabled PSN name change will finally be a reality. Now, you won’t be able to change your name quite yet, but rest assured that it’s coming.

The announcement was made in the wee hours on the PlayStation Blog, which said Sony will begin “testing” the long-awaited feature. It will begin as part of the PlayStation Preview Program for those who have signed up for the betas for previous PS4 software updates. The preview is set to end around November 2018, while full implementation is set for 2019.

All PSN users will be able to change their name once for free, though each subsequent change will cost money. The standard price for a name change is going to be $9.99, and PlayStation Plus members will only need to pay $4.99. If you do decide to change your PSN name (which is probably a majority of you), you will have the option to display either your brand new ID or your old one, for recognition’s sake. Once you decide on which name to display, it will be permanent.

While all PlayStation 4 games published after April 1, 2018 will be compatible with this new feature, anything published before that date is not guaranteed. Sony will release a full list of compatible games at some point in the future and promises that “a large majority of the most-played PS4 games that were released before this date” will also be compatible with name changes. However, some PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games will not be compatible, which could cause problems. You will be able to revert to your original PSN ID for free once at any time to resolve these issues.

PSN ID changes have been one of the most-requested features from PlayStation fans. While Shuhei Yoshida previously noted the difficulty of such a change, Shawn Layden teased the feature during PSX 2017. Earlier in 2018, Sony changed policy on another long-requested feature, cross-platform play.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

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