Years after the Xbox, Sony has announced that it will finally allow nickname changes on the PlayStation Network. Users who take up the option may end up paying a steep price, however.
The company is currently conducting a beta to test the upcoming name change option for next year. According to those in the beta, the change could cause users to lose a significant amount of data, such as saved games and, most importantly, even DLC they"ve purchased. The same could be true of virtual currencies in games.
Games released after April 1, 2018 will fully support name changes, but those released before that date may suffer from bugs and incompatibility as a result, and a player"s old nickname may also be visible in some instances.
Thankfully, Sony did mention in its initial announcement that in order to circumvent such technical hurdles, it would give gamers the option to switch back and forth between their new and old IDs, meaning if a game is giving you trouble, you can still access your content by reverting to the old nickname temporarily.
Available next year, name changes on the PlayStation Network will be free for the first use, and will then cost $9.99 for every subsequent use. PlayStation Plus members will be charged a discounted price of $4.99.