Around 12:30pm ET, Sony confirmed that every aspect of PlayStation online capability was experiencing issues, and that PSN is down.
The crash of PSN is particularly frustrating, considering the fact that several high-profile launches just hit PlayStation. With fighting games like Dragon Ball FighterZ being heavily reliant on online services for matchmaking, having the service down spells trouble for a game in its first day of launch. Combined with the launch of the hotly anticipated Monster Hunter Worlds with a number of online features itself, it’s clear that the fact that PSN is down is probably due to a heavy load on the network or some sort of nefarious influence such as a DDOS attack.
Express has reported that “some 40 per cent of PSN down issues were to do with social features, 33 per cent of issues revolved around gameplay and 26 per cent of issues related to signing in.” This is not the only downtime that PSN has experienced this week either, with an outage both yesterday and Tuesday as well. With the massive amount of players that have invested money in these newest titles, having no access to online functionality has many fans outraged, and the PlayStation Twitter is busy responding to concerned customers and irate gamers.
We're aware that some users are experiencing issues logging into PSN. Thanks for your patience as we investigate: https://t.co/NJX2xGusZM
— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) January 26, 2018
Right now, there’s no word from PlayStation as to why exactly these outages are happening. We’ll likely be waiting for a bit as the engineers assess the issue in order to give us an estimated time for fully restored service.
The Sony PSN Status Page gives a more detailed look at why exactly PSN is down and how each aspect of the PlayStation service is affected.
Account Management
You may have some difficulty signing in or creating an account on PlayStation Network. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.
Gaming & Social
You may have some difficulty launching games, applications, or online features. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.
PlayStation Store
You may have some difficulty accessing features and products on the PlayStation Store. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.
PlayStation Now
You may have some difficulty streaming PlayStation Now games. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.
PlayStation Vue
You may have some difficulty accessing some channels and features in PlayStation Vue. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.”
While the PSN is down, you’ll likely receive a notification about maintenance when you try to access the features listed above. If you were enjoying the Dragon Ball FighterZ or Monster Hunter Worlds and have found yourself disconnected, it may be time for a well-deserved break before you once again brush up on your sparring skills or tackle the next gargantuan monster. Purely single player games shouldn’t be affected by this downtime, so those who were playing games that don’t require any online connectivity should be able to continue uninterrupted – albeit without access to features like Account Management and the PlayStation Store.
Until we know more about why we’re seeing this downtime, it’s probably not a good idea to plan any specific time for gaming. With Monster Hunter Worlds and Dragon Ball FighterZ both heavily reliant on the online service, many gamers may end up frustrated as they end up spending their day waiting for maintenance to conclude rather than actually getting some gaming done. Keep an eye on the official PlayStation Twitter for timely updates on current service status.
