After years of begging, Sony is finally ready to offer name changes on the PlayStation Network. Did you hear that? That's the sound of thousands of gamers burdened with poorly thought out IDs from their edgy teenager years rejoicing from the hilltops. While we don't have an exact date yet, the latest entry on the Official PlayStation Blog says that the feature will go live for select testers taking part in the PlayStation Preview Program and that are registered to take part in PS4 software beta tests.
The feature has been a long time coming, so there's a good chance you'll have more than a few people relying on that old ID to find you. Thankfully, users will have the choice to display their old ID alongside your new one which should save on some confusion. You won't be able to go back and change this choice after the fact, however, so if you have a big friends list it's probably a good idea to play it safe on this one.
Name changes have taken so long in coming, it's clear that there have been herculean challenges to overcome. As a result, Sony can only reliably promise that games released after April of 2018 will support Online ID Change. Many major titles releasing before that time will but it will necessarily be a case by case basis.
If this sounds like something you're interested in, sign up for the System Software Beta here. Testers will receive their first name change free with subsequent changes priced at $9.99 for regular users and $4.99 for PlayStation Plus members.
Will you be taking advantage of this feature?
