Age verification is coming for the Playstation

Philipp Rüegg

21/4/2026

Translation: machine translated

Playstation users will soon have to identify themselves if they want to chat with each other and stream games.

The UK and Ireland will be the first to be affected. From June, Sony will be introducing an age verification requirement for certain functions in both countries. These include text and voice chat, Discord, Twitch and YouTube streams, as well as other sharing of personal content. However, Sony itself does not know with 100 per cent certainty what exactly is affected. The support page states: «As each game is designed differently, the functions affected may vary depending on the game. As game functions are updated over time, additional in-game functions may be restricted for users who have not confirmed their age.»

The game blog Insider-Gaming has also published an email from Sony stating that age verification will be rolled out worldwide this year. Sony cites regulatory reasons for this. These have already led to Discord and «Roblox» taking similar measures. At Discord, however, the outcry was so great that the company postponed the introduction until the end of the year. Data protection concerns or simply a lack of willingness to reveal one's identity are the main reasons why many people are resisting the introduction.

Sony is relying on Yoti for the implementation. The same service is also used for Microsoft's Xbox. This is despite the fact that the British company was fined 1.1 million US dollars in Spain for mishandling biometric data. Age verification works by means of a government ID card, facial scan or a check by the mobile phone provider.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles. more

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