You will soon see a PlayStation feature that many have hoped for as PlayStation Network Online ID changes are coming
Many of you out there have been waiting and hoping for it and now it looks as if you will soon have the ability to change your PlayStation Network Online ID. Your dreams are coming true. At least for those who chose poorly when they first signed up for the service or need to change for other reasons. I am sure there are some out there who need to hide who they are on their PlayStation, but as I have been led to believe that is few and far between. I could be wrong. I am also one who will not be looking to use this as I was able to secure TheRealHades from day one. Unless they allow for shorter names than they did at the start of it all, I will be skipping this. Just know it is coming now.
Before you get too excited about this, there will be some caveats for changing your PlayStation ID. First, this is all going on in the preview program for starters with a possible full release in 2019. Next, your first change is free and then will cost you $9.99 or $4.99 depending on if you have PlayStation Plus active. You will also need to select at the time of the change if you want to display your old ID and will not be able to change that setting after you make the change. Lastly, the change could cause issues with some of your games that released before April 1st of 2018. That one seems a bit weird to me, but it is a large enough bug in the system that they felt to mention it here.
The full update on this can be read below from the official PlayStation blog. If you are interested in this, you can sign up for a chance to join the preview program over on their site and then see if you are that desperate to change your PSN ID still. At least more than once…
PSN Online ID Change Feature Entering PlayStation Preview Program Soon
We’re happy to announce that we will soon begin testing the long-awaited feature that will allow users to change their PlayStation Network Online ID from their PlayStation 4 system. The PSN Online ID Change feature beta will be a part of the PlayStation Preview Program, and will become available to select users that have pre-registered as testers for previous PS4 system software betas.
During the preview program, you will be able to change your online ID as many times as you want. The first change is free, and changes after that will cost $9.99 USD / CAD. For PlayStation Plus members, it will cost $4.99 USD/ CAD after the first change. Changes to online ID can be made through the Settings menu or via the Profile page of your PS4.
When you change your online ID, you will have the option to display your previous ID with your new ID, so your friends can recognize you. Once you decide to display your old ID or not, you won’t be able to adjust this after completing the online ID change process.
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.
The preview program for this feature is scheduled to conclude at the end of November 2018. The full rollout of the feature to all PS4 owners is planned for early 2019, so stay tuned for updates down the road!
Have you been begging for this feature for a while now or are you glad with your PlayStation Network Online ID since it all started? Do you have a good reason to make the change or will it be more of the novelty of it all that will get you to do it? Why do you think it will cause issues with older games out there and do you think most of your favorites will make the cut? Let us all know down in the comments and then feel free to discuss. If there are further updates for this or other PlayStation features, we will have it here. Be sure to keep checking in here to see them all.