PlayStation has announced that the ability to change your PSN Online ID is finally going to be live later today. This has been one of the most requested features for PSN users for years and from later today it will be a reality.
All PlayStation 4 owners will be able to change their Online ID once for free and will be able to do so via Web Browser of their PlayStation 4 console. The PSN Online ID Change feature was beta tested across October/November 2018 and has thankfully, been a success.
However, it is noted in the announcement that despite PlayStation’s earlier advice that all games published after April 1, 2018 would support the Online ID Change feature “we’ve found an instance where a game did not fully support the feature, even though it was originally published after April 1, 2018.”
PSN Online ID Change
PlayStation says that;
All PS4 games originally published on or after April 1, 2018 have been developed to support the online ID change feature. However, since they have not all been specifically tested with the feature, we cannot guarantee that they will support it.
For more details and information, we encourage you to refer to the before making a change to your online ID. Do keep in mind that the large majority of most actively played PS4 games support the feature.
PlayStation has also added a brand-new help section about the Online ID that you can find here.
To change your Online ID on your PS4 simply follow these steps;
- From your PS4 go to [Settings].
- Select [Account Management] > [Account Information] > [Profile] > [Online ID].
- Enter an Online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.
If you prefer to change your Online ID via a web browser you can follow these steps;
- Sign in to your and select PSN Profile in the menu.
- Select the Edit button that’s next to your Online ID.
- Enter an Online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.
It is not possible to change your Online ID via a PS3 or PS Vita. The first time you change your ID there is no associated cost, however, for each time after that, you will incur a cost of $9.99 USD or $4.99 USD for PlayStation Plus members.
To help your friends find you online after you change your ID, you can opt to display your old Online ID beside your new one in your profile for 30-days. You are only able to select this option at the time you make the change. If you find that you don’t like your new ID, you are able to revert back to your old one free of charge. And you don’t have to worry about someone stealing your old Online ID, PlayStation assures us that it’s yours forever.
PlayStation is advising that changing your Online ID may have adverse effects on your account, including;
- Your previous Online ID may remain visible to you and other players in some areas.
- You may lose progress within games, including game saved data, leaderboard data, and progress towards Trophies.
- Parts of your game and applications may not function properly both online and offline.
- You may lose access to content (including paid-for content) that you may have acquired for your games including content like add-ons and virtual currency.
If you encounter these issues, PlayStation advised that you should revert back to your old Online ID and the problem should be corrected.
For more information, check out PlayStation’s post.
