Sony is offering a five-day membership extension to all PlayStation Plus users after a global outage disrupted the PlayStation Network (PSN) for nearly 18 hours over the weekend. The gaming giant confirmed on Sunday that the service had been fully restored and apologised for the inconvenience caused to its community.
The disruption, which began late Friday and continued into Saturday, left users unable to sign in, engage in online gaming, or access content from the platform’s digital store. By Saturday evening, Sony announced that PSN services were back online. However, no details were provided regarding the specific cause of the outage.
What Did Sony Announce?
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), the Japanese gaming giant stated, “Network services have fully recovered from an operational issue. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank the community for their patience.”
Network services have fully recovered from an operational issue. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank the community for their patience. All PlayStation Plus members will automatically receive an additional 5 days of service.
— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) February 9, 2025
The outage had a significant impact on users across key regions, including the United States and the United Kingdom. According to Downdetector, a platform that monitors service interruptions, nearly 8,000 users in the U.S. and over 7,300 in the U.K. reported connectivity issues at the peak of the outage on Saturday afternoon.
As a central pillar of Sony’s gaming ecosystem, PSN provides essential support to millions of PlayStation users worldwide. The company’s move to offer membership extensions underscores its effort to maintain customer goodwill following the unexpected service disruption.
Not Sony’s First Outage Rodeo
This isn’t the first time Sony has faced PSN-related challenges. Notably, a cyberattack in 2014 brought the network down for several days during the holiday season, creating widespread frustration among gamers. An even more severe incident occurred in 2011 when a security breach compromised the personal data of 77 million users, prompting a month-long shutdown and subsequent regulatory investigations.
The recent service recovery and compensation gesture demonstrate Sony’s continued effort to prioritise its community’s gaming experience amidst technical setbacks. Users can expect their PlayStation Plus subscription extensions to be applied automatically in the coming days.
