In April 2019, Sony finally did what it had promised to do for years – allowing players to change their usernames on the PlayStation Network online service.
The PlayStation Network was founded in 2006 and at the time had a big impact on two big Sony consoles: the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable. PlayStation Network now includes an online marketplace, game and social subscription service, movie streaming, and more.
All those embarrassing names we used to come up with as children should no longer follow us forever. Here’s how to change your PSN name, and we’ll also take a look at some interesting PlayStation Network username generators for those of you who are less resourceful.
How to change your PSN name
You can change your PlayStation Network username once for free and then for $ 9.99 if you are not a PlayStation Plus member, or $ 4.99 if you are.
After changing your name on PSN, your old name may additionally appear next to your name on PS4 and on the Internet for 30 days, and this will only be visible to your friends.
It’s important to know that changing your username on the PlayStation Network is not a perfect process. While all games developed after this feature are fully compatible with ID changes, you will find problems with many older games. On PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, games and apps do not support this feature at all.
For a list of PlayStation 4 games that have been tested to be compatible with this feature, and some of the most common problems that can arise from a name change, visit the official PlayStation website
If you experience serious game issues, you can restore any of your previous names by contacting PlayStation Support.
How to change PSN name on PlayStation 4
If you would like to change your PlayStation Network username using your PlayStation 4 console, go to Settings> Account Management> Account Information> Profile> Online ID.
Here you can enter a new ID. On the next screen, you can choose if you want to display your old PlayStation Network username next to the new one, which is valid for 30 days.
If you confirm your choice, you will be asked to pay the required amount if this is not the first time you change your ID, or you will be advised that you can change your name for free.
Once complete, you will be logged out of PlayStation Network and will be prompted to log in again with a new username.
How to change PSN name on PC
To change your PlayStation Network username online, you will need to access the PlayStation Network account management section of the Sony website.
Here click on the PSN Profile menu option on the left. On this page, the topmost field will be Online ID. Click the Change button to the right of it and you can change your information after accepting two confirmation windows that provide information on the risks of changing your ID.
In the next window you will be able to enter your new online identifier and check its availability (using the “Check availability” button). Once you choose the one that you like and is available, you can confirm it.
You can also see that Sony offers a few naming options in the screenshot above, but they’re not the best.
Let’s take a look at some of the PlayStation Network username generators to help you choose a new identity.
How to use the PlayStation Network username generator
PSN name generators have been around for decades as a way to quickly come up with a username when they’re either struggling or out of time.
Most username generators target a specific niche or theme, such as fantasy or The Lord of the Rings.
However, we did find several username generators advertised specifically for the PlayStation Network. Of these, we have selected two that we consider to be the most useful.
SpinXO
SpinXO is the best general purpose PSN name generator. It gives you the ability to set a starting name, interests, important words, favorite numbers or letters, and more, which it will use to create a list of 30 names from which you can choose. If you don’t like them, you can twist even more.
One of the nicest features of this site is the ability to click on any of these names to see at a glance if it’s available on PSN (or several other sites).
CoolGenerator.com
CoolGenerator.com isn’t as reliable as SpinXO, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The PSN Name Generator at CoolGenerator.com asks for the name or title you like and the length and generates a list of usernames from these. You can even leave these fields blank to create a purely random list of usernames.
As you can see from the above name list, it meets the character and length requirements for changing PSN username, so a name generator designed specifically for PSN is much better than something more generic. CoolGenerator.com will help you if you think SpinXO requires too much data from the user.
If you know of other notable PlayStation Network username generators, please share them with us in the comments section below.
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