Sony will officially allow PlayStation Network name changes with some caveats

Rumours began swirling last week when anonymous sources claimed that developers were working on the ability to swap in-game names on Sony’s PlayStation Network – a feature distinctly missing for over a decade. Sony has since made the news official, explaining that PSN users can change their name as soon as 2019, however there will be drawbacks.

The new feature will first debut in a preview program available to PlayStation 4 system software beta testers. During this time, testers will be able to change their name as much as they want, with the ability to display their new name and their previous moniker for easier recognition. Be warned, however, once the choice has been made to display the old ID or not, “you won’t be able to adjust this after completing the online ID change process.”

Like Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gamertag, Sony will offer the first change for free when the service is launched on the live servers. Subsequent changes will cost $9.99 USD / CAD, while members of PlayStation Plus are afforded a hefty 50 percent discount at $4.99 USD/ CAD per change.

All games released after April 1^st, 2018 will be compatible, while developers have been hard at work to get the feature working on games released prior. Unfortunately, not all titles will support the new online ID, as Sony explains that players may “occasionally encounter issues or errors in certain games.”

“If for any reason you experience issues after changing your ID, you can revert back to your original ID for free at any time (you will only be able to revert once during the preview program),” explains Sony’s blog post. “Reverting back to an old ID will resolve most issues caused by the ID change. In addition, when this feature officially launches, a list of compatible games published before April 1, 2018, will be provided on PlayStation.com for reference before you make a change.”

The preview program for the long-awaited feature will go live at the end of November, 2018, followed by a full rollout scheduled for early 2019 if all goes to plan.

KitGuru Says: I’ve been wanting to change my name for quite some time after my online moniker was inexplicably denied. While I doubt I’ll have much luck upon trying again, successfully embracing my current online identity would certainly motivate me to play online more. Do you have plans to change your PSN name?

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