PlayStation gamers across the UK were hit with a major disruption on Wednesday evening as the PlayStation Network (PSN) suffered a widespread outage. The issues began around 6:30 PM, leaving a huge number of players locked out of online gaming, account sign-ins, and the PlayStation Store.
Frustration quickly mounted on social media, with the hashtag #PSNDown trending as users reported identical problems. The outage tracking website Downdetector recorded a massive spike in reports, confirming the outage was not an isolated incident.
What Services Are Affected?
The problems appear to be comprehensive, affecting core online functionalities. Key issues reported by users include:
- Inability to sign in to their PSN accounts.
- Online multiplayer being completely inaccessible.
- Errors and failures when trying to access the PlayStation Store.
- Problems with account management and gaming libraries.
Many users reported receiving error codes such as WS-116367-4 and NW-102261-4 when attempting to connect, a clear sign of server-side problems.
Sony's Response and Status Updates
Sony has officially acknowledged the issues on its network status page, which currently shows nearly all core services, including Gaming and Social, Account Management, and the PS Store, with major outages.
At this time, the company has not provided a detailed explanation for the cause of the crash or a specific timeline for when full service will be restored. Players are advised to monitor the official status page for the latest updates.
For now, the only option for millions of gamers is to wait it out. This latest outage serves as a stark reminder of the reliance on always-online connectivity for modern gaming and the widespread disruption that occurs when a major platform like PSN goes offline.
