PSN IDs are your very identity when it comes to PlayStation platforms, most recently with the PlayStation 4. While you have been able to change your name forever on Xbox Live, the same has not been available for PSN though. Sony promised that this much awaited feature was finally coming soon and has been available only for preview members, but now the ability to change your PSN ID is finally available to everybody.
Sony made this announcement through the official PlayStation Blog, where they also laid out all of the fine details about changing your PSN ID. Starting today, you are able to change your own name through your PS4 or through a web browser.
For the PS4, this is found under Settings > Account Management > Account Information > Profile > Online ID. If you are doing it on the web browser, visit this link and sign into your profile. Once inside, select PSN Profile and click edit next to your name to change it.
Similar to Xbox Live, the first name change is completely free, with subsequent changes costing $9.99. However, you can revert back to a prior name at no charge if you do not like the new one. This also means old PSN names can’t be used again by anyone other than you. PS Plus members also get a discount making it only $4.99 for a name change after the first free one.
When changing the name, you will have an option to display your old name by your new one for 30 days so that friends can tell you have changed names as well, which is a helpful feature.
Originally, Sony stated that all games published at least after April 1, 2018 would be supported, but they did specify they found a case where it was not. They did include a link of tested games, so it’s a good idea to check that before changing if you are still playing any of that list a lot still. Sony specifically mentioned the following could be issues with games that don’t support the change.
- Your previous Online ID may remain visible to you and other players in some areas.
- You may lose progress within games, including game saved data, leaderboard data, and progress towards Trophies.
- Parts of your game and applications may not function properly both online and offline.
- You may lose access to content (including paid-for content) that you may have acquired for your games including content like add-ons and virtual currency.
This has definitely been the most requested feature for PSN dating back to the PS3 days, so it’s great that it is finally here. Just make sure to read more in depth about it before making the change, since there are some potential issues still.
