Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) experienced a significant outage today, affecting users for several hours. Gamers reported issues when trying to access the system, impacting various consoles including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PS Vita, and even the older PlayStation 3. Reports of the downtime surged around 6 AM IST on Downdetector, a service monitoring system outages.
While Sony Interactive Entertainment has yet to issue an official statement regarding the outage, the initial status update from the PlayStation Network indicated users might face challenges launching games, apps, or accessing network features. The PSN Service Status page acknowledged that several services, including account management, gaming, social features, and the PlayStation Store, were experiencing issues across all platforms.
This disruption interfered with both multiplayer and single-player games requiring online connectivity. Players on consoles such as the PS5 and PS4 reported being unable to launch titles due to errors like “PS5 error Code WS-116522-7,” associated with a system software update failure. Though offline games continued to function, those dependent on online services were rendered inaccessible.
Sony has not disclosed the reason behind the outage or an estimated timeline for a fix. Interestingly, the network issue arose shortly after the company addressed a separate bug related to PS5 home screen artwork, but it remains unclear if the two problems are connected. Some users on Twitter speculated that PSN servers may have been compromised, recalling the infamous 2011 incident when PSN was down for 23 days due to a major security breach, which resulted in Sony offering compensation in the form of free games and a month of PlayStation Plus.
Gamers are encouraged to keep an eye on updates from Sony as the company works towards resolving the current disruption. The only official message for now is a commitment to address the issue as promptly as possible.