Last week, rumor spread that Sony was preparing to let PS4 owners change their PSN usernames. You’d finally be able to retire Vote4Pedrolol2006! Well, Sony has now confirmed the long-awaiting feature is on the way, with PlayStation Preview Program testing starting soon.
Much like with Xbox Live gamertags, you’ll be able to change your PSN ID once for free, but beyond that changes will cost $10. PS Plus subscribers will only have to pay $5 for additional name changes. Once you change your ID, you can choose to also display your old username, so your friends will still know who they’re talking to.
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It all sounds pretty standard, although Sony warns that not all games will support your new PSN ID, and changing may cause “issues or errors” with some games…
This feature is compatible with PS4 games originally published after April 1, 2018, and a large majority of the most-played PS4 games that were released before this date. However, please note not all games and applications for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita systems are guaranteed to support the online ID change, and users 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). 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.
PSN profiles are linked to a username rather than a unique ID number, which makes username changes more complicated than you might think. Basically, each individual game has to be updated to support PSN ID changes, and some publishers will likely decide it’s not worth the effort. So, depending on what you’re playing, you may be stuck with your old dependable PSN ID after all.
PSN ID changes are expected to roll out to all PS4 owners in early 2019.
