LONDON, April 21, 2026, 20:33 BST
- Sony plans to require adult PlayStation account holders in the UK and Ireland to verify their age starting June 2026, or risk losing access to communications and some sharing features.
- Sony says skipping the check won’t lock players out—they’ll still have access to games and the PlayStation Store.
- Xbox brought similar age verification to the UK earlier, with more platforms adding checks as online-safety rules get stricter.
Sony plans to require PlayStation users with adult accounts in the UK and Ireland to verify their age starting June 2026. Those who skip the process could lose access to features such as voice chat, messages, parties, Discord voice chat, broadcasting, and some in-game user content, according to the company’s support page.
Sony is now warning users before the June shift, marking perhaps the clearest sign so far that console gaming will soon fall under the sort of age checks long required on social media, streaming services, and adult sites.
Pressure is mounting for tech firms under the UK’s Online Safety Act, which now requires concrete evidence that platforms are protecting children from harmful content. With its first round of rules now live, Ofcom is warning it won’t hesitate to act if companies slip behind on compliance.
Sony says unverified users can keep playing games and use non-communication features, plus they’re able to access the PlayStation Store and make purchases. Communication tools, though, remain off-limits until the verification step is complete, according to the company.
Users on PlayStation consoles and the PS App should expect outages hitting a range of communication tools—voice and text chat, group sessions, parties, and in-app messaging all affected. Discord voice chat isn’t spared, nor are third-party or linked services. Streaming gameplay to YouTube or Twitch? That’s disrupted, too.
Some titles could restrict in-game chat or user-generated content—UGC, content that players contribute or circulate. Sony says the impact varies by game, and those policies might change when games update their features.
Yoti handles the company’s age checks. Sony’s support page lists three ways for users to verify: a mobile phone, facial scan, or an official ID—passport, driving licence, or national ID.
Sony says Yoti manages all the data, with PlayStation only seeing the result of the age scan. The company claims Yoti deletes facial geometry after completing the check. PlayStation doesn’t get access to that facial data, nor does it store it, Sony added.
Some headlines have painted the restriction as a full console shutdown, but that’s not the case. Per a Sony email cited by GamingBible, skipping verification doesn’t lock users out of gaming entirely. You’ll still have access to games, trophies, settings, and the PlayStation Store, though the online communication features called out in the notice will be off limits.
Actually making this work is where Sony runs into trouble. Age verification always drags in privacy worries, and that’s before tackling system bugs or frustrated users needing help. Sony says some limits will be set by the games themselves, so gamers won’t know exactly what’s off-limits until after June—each title decides.
Back in July 2025, Microsoft rolled out a comparable policy aimed at UK Xbox users. Kim Kunes, who heads up gaming trust and safety at Xbox, said players in the UK would need to complete age verification beginning early 2026. Anyone who doesn’t comply could see their access to Xbox social features—voice and text chat, invites, and the like—cut off.
Whether PlayStation’s age verification system expands beyond its current scope remains up in the air. An email from Sony Interactive Entertainment, viewed by GameSpot, tells users they’ll need to verify their age later this year to maintain access to PlayStation communication features, pointing to “global regulations” as the driver. But Sony’s official support page only references a June launch, and only for adult accounts based in the UK and Ireland. GameSpot
