Highlights
- Thousands of PlayStation users reported problems accessing games and online services.
- Sony later confirmed that all PlayStation Network services were experiencing issues.
- Some players said even digitally purchased games could not be launched during the outage.
PlayStation users around the world reported widespread disruption on Friday after problems with the PlayStation Network (PSN) left some players unable to access online services and, in some cases, their digital game libraries.
Reports of the outage quickly spread across social media and outage-tracking websites before Sony acknowledged that multiple PlayStation Network services were affected.
Sony confirms problems across PlayStation Network
Thousands of outage reports were logged on Downdetector in the UK, with similar spikes recorded in the US and other parts of Europe, prompting speculation that the disruption was global.
While PlayStation Network's official status page initially showed no problems, Sony later updated the service status to confirm that "all services are experiencing issues".
According to the company, the outage affected Account Management, Gaming and Social, PlayStation Video, PlayStation Store and PlayStation Direct.
Players say digital games would not launch
Many users said the disruption extended beyond online multiplayer, claiming they were unable to launch games they had purchased digitally.
Several players also reported slow-loading menus, lengthy shutdown times and problems signing into their PlayStation accounts.
One user wrote on social media that they could not access any of their digital games after switching on their PS5, while another said their console would not load games or allow them to sign in.
Others pointed to the incident as a reminder of the challenges associated with an increasingly digital games market.
Some services begin to recover
As Sony worked to resolve the issue, some users reported that access to games and online services had gradually returned.
However, others continued to experience slow performance and connection problems even after the company acknowledged the outage.
Sony has not yet provided further details on what caused the widespread disruption or when all PlayStation Network services will be fully restored.
