After years and years of being stuck with the same goofy or embarrassing name you chose as your PSN online ID, Sony has finally added the ability to change your user name. There are a few caveats but everyone can change their name once for free. After that it’ll cost you.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to changing your PSN online ID:
PlayStation 4:
- Step 1: From your PS4 go to [Settings].
- Step 2: Select [Account Management] > [Account Information] > [Profile] > [Online ID].
- Step 3: Enter an Online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Step 4: Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.
Web browser:
- Step 1: Sign in to your and select PSN Profile in the menu.
- Step 2: Select the Edit button that’s next to your Online ID.
- Step 3: Enter an Online ID of your choice or choose from one of the suggestions.
- Step 4: Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.
The first name change is free. After that each additional name change will cost $9.99, or $4.99 each for PlayStation Plus Members. When changing your name you have the option of displaying your old name in your profile for 30 days, so friends can notice the change. Your old ID is not released back into the system, and remains only available to you, and reverting back to an old name is free.
The biggest caveat with the name change is that not every game supports it. All non-remastered games released after April 2018 should support ID changes without issue. The keyword here is ‘should’ as Sony apparently found at least one game where that wasn’t the case.
Older games were developed before Sony planned on supporting this feature, and may run into problems. Sony has divided them into two categories: Games with Issues Identified, and Games with Criticial Issues. Critical Issues include loss of save data and trophies, while the former category could might mean having to redo your game settings and re-linking accounts.
