Sony to retire the PSN branding
by Tuffcub · tsaAn email seen by Insider Gaming has revealed that Sony is to drop the PSN branding, along with the name PlayStation Network. Then PSN will still exist, it will just be called something else.
The full email reads as follows:
“We’d like to inform you that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has strategically decided to phase out the terms “PlayStation Network” and “PSN” across our platform in order to properly capture the breadth of our evolving digital services. What’s changing and timeline.
The upcoming changes are purely visual and will not introduce any technical alterations to our offerings. To simplify and unify branding, the terms “PlayStation Network” and “PSN” will be phased out across all SIE assets by September 2026. All features currently associated with PSN, including core network features such as friends, multiplayer, and trophies, will remain unaffected and available to players. You’ll be notified ahead of changes coinciding with the Technical Requirements Checklist (TRC) update in the fall of 2026.
Note: PS5 DevNet access is required to view TRC documentation. At that time, you’ll need to align with the updated TRC and branding guidelines to ensure the removal of PSN instances from all future releases, assets, and external service interfaces.”
November 2026 would be the 20th anniversary of the PSN, and I do think Sony is going to find it hard to change a name which is so ingrained in gaming culture. History is littered with examples of name changes that never really take hold, for Amazon Prime Video is actually called Prime Video, NowTV is really just Now, and if you call Twitter “X” then you are very much in the minority.
The email does state the change is “to properly capture the breadth of our evolving digital services” but apart from the PSN sony really doesn’t have any digital services, or at least , services anyone cares about. Sony Pictures Core is their movie streaming service – does anyone use that? – but the company does not have its own streaming music service. Maybe it has something to do with their plans for the PS6?
The only thing for certain is that everyone will still call it the PSN.
Source: Insider Gaming