Sony has already started informing PlayStation users in the UK and Ireland that mandatory age verification is coming to PSN in 2026. The move is hardly surprising, as it is part of compliance with the Online Safety Act 2023, and it puts PlayStation on the same path already taken by platforms such as Xbox, Discord, and Steam.

According to PlayStation’s official guidance, age verification for adult accounts registered in the UK and Ireland will become necessary from June 2026 for access to certain features. That means users who do not complete the process will still be able to play, but several communication and sharing tools may no longer be available to them. Sony is already encouraging affected players to verify their age now if they want to avoid disruptions later this year.

The restrictions cover several familiar PSN features. These include text and voice chat, messaging, joining parties or group sessions, connected third-party communication experiences such as Discord voice chat, and broadcasting and sharing tools, including the ability to stream to YouTube or Twitch. On top of that, some in-game communication functions and user-generated content systems may also become unavailable for players who do not verify their age.

Sony also stresses that the exact features affected may vary from game to game, because each title implements those systems differently. As developers continue updating their games over time, additional in-game features may also end up restricted for users who remain unverified. In other words, this is not a fixed list that will stay frozen forever, but something that could expand depending on how individual games handle communication and UGC features going forward.

Phone Number, Facial Scan, or ID – How Sony Will Verify Player Age

PlayStation users will have three ways to complete the verification process. They can enter a mobile phone number, submit a facial scan, or use an official identity document. To handle this, Sony has chosen Yoti, a digital identity provider that can verify age and identity through multiple methods, including facial recognition. It is not an unfamiliar name in this space either, as Microsoft has also relied on Yoti for similar compliance steps after the Online Safety Act began reshaping platform requirements in the UK.

It is also important to note that refusing to verify your age does not permanently remove you from the PlayStation ecosystem. Users who do not complete the process will still be able to play their purchased games and continue shopping on the PS Store. The difference is that communication, broadcasting, and certain community-driven features will simply be blocked until age verification is completed.

So this is not some isolated PlayStation experiment, but another sign of how major platforms operating in the UK are being pushed into a new regulatory reality. PSN users in the region are now about to feel that shift directly.

Source: GRY-Online