Sony is finally giving PlayStation 4 players the ability to change their PSN usernames. The first change will be free, while subsequent ones will cost between $5 or $10, depending on whether you have a PS Plus membership. Xbox users can already change their usernames, though that also costs money.
You thought the PSN username “LimpBizkitRulezzz” would be timeless when you created it during the PlayStation 3 era, but tastes change and you’re likely tired of having to look at it. Until this point, there was nothing you could do about that, but Sony has finally announced the ability to change your PlayStation username, and the feature arrives to beta testers very soon.
Releasing initially as part of the PlayStation Preview program, the PSN Online ID Change feature will let you change your username for free one time. Subsequent changes will cost $5 for PlayStation Plus members and $10 for everyone else, though we’re not really sure why you’d want to change your name if you aren’t playing online already.
The changes will be available to other PlayStation users in early 2019, but you might encounter issues with your new name displaying correctly in certain games. Sony said the feature will work for all games published after April 1,2018, but earlier games could fail to show your new name. You can revert back to your previous name as a one-time action during the preview testing stage, and there’s also an option to display your old ID alongside your new one so your friends know it’s still you.
PlayStation 4 also gives you the option to display your real name to those on your friends list, so it’s likely many of them won’t even notice the change. If you’re connected to Facebook, you can even make your profile picture the same as your Facebook page for these users, as well.
Those in the preview program will have until the end of November to change their name. The program also gives you access to changes coming in future PlayStation 4 updates, such as UI tweaks or organizational changes. As these changes are still in beta during this period, they could have problems not seen in the final version.
This feature has certainly been requested from users, as Xbox has allowed you to change your username for years. Doing so on Xbox also costs money, though if you’re changing it from a randomized username picked by Microsoft, you can do so one time for free.
