[UPDATE] The PlayStation Network is back online and functioning normally. Sony confirmed that players will still have the ability to access online services “without any issues.” The disruption started on Friday, February 7, and continued for almost 24 hours, with services being restored on the evening of February 8. This marks it as the second-longest PSN outage in history, only surpassed by the notorious 2011 PSN failure that lasted for weeks.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” Sony stated in its announcement regarding the restoration of online services. The company did not initially clarify the reason behind the PSN failure, leading fans to speculate.
However, the company eventually revealed that an “operational issue” caused the outage. The ambiguity of that statement is doing little to reassure fans, who continue to urge Sony to provide additional details about what occurred and what steps the company might take to prevent a recurrence of this situation.
We will report back if the company has any further updates, but thankfully the PSN is back up and running.
As compensation, Sony is offering all PlayStation Plus members an extra five days of service. “We regret the inconvenience and appreciate the community’s patience,” Sony expressed.
Community services have fully recovered from an operational issue. We sincerely apologize for the trouble 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 original story continues below.
Online services for popular networks occasionally go down or experience intermittent issues, and that’s exactly what is happening now with Sony’s PlayStation Network. On Friday evening, players started reporting problems with the PSN, and these issues have persisted for over 18 hours. This is reported to be the second-longest PSN outage in history, second only to the infamous 2011 PSN outage that lasted 23 days.
The Ask PlayStation account confirmed the issues, which are impacting nearly all major PSN services, including account management, the PlayStation Store, and the primary function of launching and playing games. In summary, this is a significant outage, and as you can imagine, people are letting Sony know by sharing their thoughts and opinions online.
Why is the PSN down?
This is the primary question. Sony’s lack of communication is frustrating some fans. So far, all the company has stated is: “We are aware that some users may be currently experiencing issues with PSN.” Beyond that, Sony has not provided any further details about what happened or when the PSN might come back online.
That being said, reporter Tom Warren from The Verge reminded people that Microsoft faced a major DDoS attack on the Xbox Azure servers back in December 2024. “So it’s possible Sony is dealing with a similar situation,” Warren commented.
What is affected by the PSN outage?
As mentioned, nearly everything related to PSN is impacted by the outage, including launching games, accessing the PlayStation Store, and streaming PlayStation Video content. The PlayStation Gear store, which sells various PlayStation products and accessories, is also affected by the outage.
Even physical games are rendered unplayable without PSN access if it’s necessary to pair a disc drive. This is why true physical media and disc drive access are crucial.
Welcome to the future – nobody owns anything, and all art and entertainment is disposable, transient, and fleeting.— Ryan T. Brown 🎮❤️ (@Toadsanime) February 8, 2025
Essentially, all games that connect to the internet are unplayable now, including heavyweights like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, Fortnite, Destiny 2, and others. Some users report that single-player games are also not functioning during this downtime, while others indicate that their disc drives are experiencing issues, effectively bricking their consoles. As always, your experience may vary with any PSN issues.
The problems are impacting limited-time in-game events, including Destiny 2’s Heresy/Sundered Doctrine contest. Bungie is currently “exploring options,” but can’t make a specific plan at the moment. One possible choice is to “consider a future weekend as a make-up period,” the developer stated. Bungie is owned by Sony.
Our team is fully aware of the PS outage and its effects on the Heresy/Sundered Doctrine Contest.
We’re exploring options.
Stay tuned to D2Teams for updates later.— dmg04 (@A_dmg04) February 8, 2025
Call of Duty’s Terminator event is ongoing as well. Activision has not yet commented, but the Call of Duty Updates X account has shared Sony’s announcement regarding the outage.
Free donuts
Top brands are already getting involved regarding the PSN outage, as Krispy Kreme has offered that everyone can receive a complimentary glazed donut today, February 8, between 5-7 PM. “Because sweet treats don’t require a server,” the company stated.
A challenging time for a PSN outage
The PSN going down on a Friday evening after individuals clocked out from work and returned home…