If you own a PlayStation, you're going to need to prove your age if you want to keep chatting with your mates online.
Sony has started to issue notifications to UK players this week, letting them know that age verification will become mandatory for communication features on PS4 and PS5 consoles. This comes as the company plans to follow the rules set out in the recent Online Safety Act.
The company said in a statement: "At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we are committed to creating safe, age-appropriate experiences for players and families while respecting privacy and giving players and parents meaningful control over their gaming experience."
This means if you want to use voice chat, send messages, or join online parties, you'll need to complete a one-time age check. Here are all the features that require verification:
- Communication features on PlayStation (console, PS App and web)
- Voice chat
- Text chat/messaging
- Joining parties or group sessions
- Connected or third-party communication experiences
- Discord voice chat
- Broadcasting and sharing features
- Broadcasting gameplay to YouTube or Twitch
Playing your games, earning trophies, and buying stuff from the PlayStation Store won't require the online age check.
You'll need to verify your age to access all communication features on PlayStation consoles by scanning the above QR code and following the prompts
|SONY PRESS OFFICE
Sony is partnering with Yoti, a British company that specialises in digital identity checks, to handle the verification process.
To comply with the Online Safety Act, Yoti will scan your face using AI technology that estimates your age based on facial geometry. Alternatively, you can upload a photo of your passport, driving licence, or national ID card. There's also a mobile phone option that checks the information your network provider already has on file for you.
Sony says Yoti deletes your facial data straight after the verification is complete, and PlayStation itself never stores or processes that information. While age checks have just begun to roll out from Sony, it won't become mandatory until later this year — though there's no exact date yet. Sony recommends you verify your age as soon as possible to avoid possible delays in the future.
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Xbox players find themselves in the same boat. Microsoft had the jump on Sony with this one, announcing its own age verification requirements last summer. Similar to Sony, players who don't verify their age can still play games and make purchases, but will be locked-out of some social features, with these restricted to friends-only.
And if there is adult content found in a particular game, it may also require its own age checks on top of PlayStation and Xbox. For instance, Rockstar Games appears to be developing an age verification system for Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online, with leaked screenshots revealing a new menu for the unannounced feature.
The Sony PlayStation 5 also just suffered a price rise of £90 in the UK earlier this month
| GETTY IMAGESThe verification requirements will determine whether you can access the in-game online lobbies at all. Without age confirmation, these multiplayer spaces could become completely inaccessible.
If you've never played the game before, the Grand Theft Auto franchise is an action-adventure video game series created by DMA Design (now Rockstar North) and published by Rockstar Games. The series is best known for its sprawling cities and crime-driven narratives.
It's also had a pretty big influence on the gaming industry. Popular games like this one can directly impact the release dates of new consoles because hardware manufacturers — like Sony and Microsoft — rely on newer high-profile games to give you more of a reason to upgrade to compatible consoles when they launch, such as the PS5.