How do I change my PSN name?

After years of being stuck with awful, juvenile online IDs, people can finally change their PSN names. Here’s how you do it.

It’s time to cast off childish things and become adults. Literally, in the case of our PSN names. No longer will we be shamed by names we came up with when we were younger. More naive. Flipping idiots.

It’s the PlayStation feature that, aside from cross-platform play, people have mostly been asking for. Finally, we can all put an end to years of embarrassment, and change our PSN names.

But how do you change your PSN name?

Via a web browser

1. Sign in to your PSN account and select “PSN Profile” from the menu.
2. Click the “Edit” button.
3. Choose a new PSN name (and try not to be an idiot).
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.

Via your PS4 console

1. From your PS4 go to “Settings”.
2. Select “Account Management > Account Information > Profile > Online ID”.
3. Chose a new PSN name. Carefully. We’ll explain why in a minute.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the change.

You’re going to want to think carefully before you finalise your new online ID. Your first PSN name change is free; every subsequent change will cost you actual money ($9.99 US per change for regular users, or $4.99 for PS Plus subscribers). Sony is kind of like a drug dealer: the first bump is free, but your next hit is going to cost you.

Other things to keep in mind:

• You can revert back to previous usernames at any time – these will be reserved and not available to others.
• You’ll need to contact PlayStation support to revert back.
• It costs money to change your PSN name (after the first one) but you can revert back as many times as you like for free.
• You can opt to display your old PSN name next to your new online ID for up to 30 days (to help people find and recognise you).
• You can’t change the online ID for child accounts.
• Only certain games support PSN name changes.
• PS3 and Vita games don’t support online ID changes.

And that’s it. You’re ready to go. But before you do, maybe have a couple of nights to sleep on it, before you do something you regret.