Sony announced that their plan to allow players to change their PSN ID has finally gone live yesterday at 5:00 PM Pacific/8:00 PM Eastern for all PS4 users. The first time you do this it will be free but afterward, it will cost you $9.99 USD ($4.99 USD with PS Plus). A child’s PSN ID cannot be changed though, and PS3, PS Vita, and apps do not support the change online ID feature. For those who are interested in the opportunity, check out below to find out how to change your ID.
On the PS4 System:
- From the settings menu, navigate to the following: [Settings]> [Account Management]> [Account Information]> [Profile]> [online ID].
- Create a new online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Choose between (a) only displaying your new online ID on your profile or (b) displaying your old online ID next to your new one for 30 days.
- If you have changed your online ID before, you will be prompted to complete a purchase transaction to pay for the online ID change.
- Once the process is complete, you will be signed out of your account and need to sign back in.
Via Web Browser:
- Sign in to PlayStation Network Account Management Online and navigate to the PSN Profile page in the menu.
- Change online ID can be accessed from the account profile page. An “edit” button is added next to online ID.
- Create a new online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Choose between (a) displaying only your new online ID on your profile or (b) displaying your old online ID next to your new one for 30 days.
- If you have changed your online ID before, you will be prompted to complete a purchase transaction to pay for the online ID change.
This feature has been asked for by the PlayStation community for years now and, at long last, players finally have the chance to do so … but at what cost? It’s been announced by Sony that all PS4 games originally published on or after April 1, 2018 have been developed to support the online ID change feature, however, they have not been specifically tested with the online ID change feature and do not guarantee that they are fully compatible with the feature. Games produced before this date will have a lot of problems. Below is a list of what can happen (as well as a link) to see what games have no known issues, issues specified, and critical issues — depending on the game after or before April 1st.
The “Games List” contains the following selected PS4 games:
Games with no known issues — Games which have been tested for the online ID change feature and no known issues were found. These games are also separately listed in “Games with No Known Issues.”
Games with issues identified* — Games which have been tested and were found to have one or more of the following known issues, which we did not consider critical to the gameplay experience, but which you should review to consider how important they are to you:
- Previous online ID(s) may remain visible to you and other players or the online ID is no longer visible in some areas in a game title (in-game rankings, leaderboards, etc). For some game titles, the online ID will automatically update if you sign out and then sign back into the game or when various gameplay activity is performed after sign-in.
- User accounts on PlayStation may be unlinked from game accounts. Linking accounts again may restore the original linkage.
- Certain game settings may be initialized to their default state (audio setting, controller setting, etc). For some game titles, settings may be recovered if you sign out and then sign back into the game.
These games are identified on the Games List by “Issues Identified*” … These games are also separately listed in “Games with Issue Identified.*”
Games with Critical Issues** — Games which have been tested and one or more of the following known issues which we considered fundamental to the gameplay experience:
- A user may lose in-game currency whether paid for or earned.
- Loss of game progress, including scores and progress toward trophy unlocking.
- Loss of UGC or parts of the game may not function properly, both online and offline.
You can see the full list of games here: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/onlineid/games-list-home/games-list/
Personally, if you have any games in the “Games with Critical Issues” category, I do not recommend changing your PSN ID right now but rather in the future when this is all solved. The last thing anyone wants is the loss of their trophies, game progress, or their DLC content because sometimes changing your ID … isn’t worth it.