PSN Name/PSN ID Change Feature – What is It & How To Do It?
PlayStation Network is an online platform of Sony for its PlayStation consoles. The PlayStation Network allows its users to play online, stream the content and access to a digital market space to download new games and much more. Sony’s PlayStation 4 is no doubt the most prominent console available at the moment. It was launched back in 2013 alongside the PS4 Pro, and over 82 million units have been sold since then.
There are various single player games available on the platform, but those who want to play online with friends require a PlayStation Network login. One of the most requested PS4 features for is the ability to change PSN name of the player is soon going to become an actual option.
PSN name of any user is one of the major ways to communicate your identity and who you are to the other players while playing games online. Your PSN name is the first thing that is visible to any person who looks out for your profile. With PSN being there for nearly 12 years now, games who earlier chose poor names while deciding their usernames have been stuck with their bad choices for years.
This update is going to give you an ultimate chance that you were counting on if you are embarrassed by that one PSN ID you picked while you were young. This feature is a boon for those players who once set their PSN name 12 years ago. It is just like that e-mail address that you must ditch before you start applying for jobs. This is why it is one of the most requested features for Sony’ PlayStation from years. It’s also going to give you a chance to recreate your online persona.
Although, there are several caveats for accessing this feature which is all discussed ahead in this article leaving the rest of it for you to decide if it’s worth the effort. One thing to keep in mind while reading this article is that every information regarding this is still subject to change as the feature moves from the preview stage to a full release.
How Do I Change My PSN Name/PSN ID?
If you are an existing member of the Playstation Preview Program, you are allowed to test out the PSN name change feature very “soon”. Name-swap away through to the completion of the month of November when the preview is about to end. If you are not already a member of the PlayStation Preview Program, you can expect this feature to roll out for a full release in early 2019.
Limitations of PSN name change?
You can alter your PSN name as many times as you want, however, it is only free of cost for the first time around. After the change of PSN name for the first time, each change will cost you $4.99 for the PS Plus subscribers or $9.99 for every non-member individual. There is also a choice to display your old PSN name alongside your latest one if you want your friends to identify you, but you can only enable or disable this feature if you make the actual name change, after doing that it is locked. Once you are done deciding whether you want your old ID to display or not, you will not be able to adjust this after finishing the online ID changing process.
Is there any potential issue with the change in PSN name?
According to Sony, the PSN name changes will be fully compatible with each and every PS4 games published after 1 April 2018 and also the huge majority of the most played PS4 games from before that time as well. It does warn the users that not all the applications and games for PS Vita, PS3 and PS4 will support this change and the users may encounter slight discomfort and some issues using them with a latest PSN name.
Can I change my PSN name back to the earlier one?
The answer to the above question is yes; you can change your old PSN name at any time for free. However, you will only be able to do this while the Preview Program. It is useful if you encounter problems with an earlier one or application or if you decide that you liked your old names much better than the new one. It doesn’t sound like you will have your money if you paid for the name changes.
Can I merge my previous PSN name with the newer one?
If you were not able to wait for the new feature to launch, and already set up a fresh account with a different PSN name, under that condition, it is unlikely that you will be able to merge the two PSN numbers or update your old account to the new PSN name. This is because there is an option to revert to your old PSN name at any point of time, even if you altered the PSN name of your latest account to something else you will not be able to update your old account to the latest PSN name.
Sony is currently Beta testing the software and should launch it to the users in the coming months. The upcoming PS4 6.10 update is most likely to offer these features. The process to change PSN name is much complicated than changing your ID on the Xbox One, but it might be useful to those with totally ridiculous PSN names. If you are a PS4 beta tester, you can log in to your mail ID to check for an invite to test the software update. Changes to your online ID can be made by accessing the Settings menu or through the Profile Page of your PS4.
If for any reason you experience trouble or issues after changing your ID, you can go back to your original ID at any point of time for free. However, this is only possible once during the preview program. Reverting back to the earlier ID will be able to resolve man issues that you may encounter with the change in ID. In addition to this, a list of compatible games published before 1 April 2018 will be listed on the official website of PlayStation for reference before you make any changes when this feature officially launches.
The preview program is scheduled to come to an end in the late November 2018 for this feature. PlayStation Network ID’s have been set in stone from a very long time since the online service of Sony was launched in the year 2006, along with the PlayStation 3. The option to be able to change PSN ID has been a longstanding expectation and request for all the PlayStation users.
However, while various similar services have offered a feature to change the display name of their users over a couple of years, Sony took a long time to realize it, and it ended up taking more than a decade to address this issue. Last year at the PlayStation Experience, Shawn Layden, the chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios said that he hoped to give the owners of PlayStation an update on the progress on Sony on that front before the end of this year.
