The PlayStation Network (PSN) experienced a major outage that lasted over 20 hours, starting on Friday evening, February 7th. The outage affected various services, including sign-ins, gaming, and the PlayStation Store. Sony acknowledged the issue on Friday night, stating that some users might be experiencing problems with PSN.
Calling all gamers: this play station still works 🍩 Grab a free Original Glazed Doughnut today from 5-7 PM—because sweet rewards don’t need a server. 🎮🔥 #gaming #network #PSN #freedoughnut #krispykreme pic.twitter.com/kjB2VtosAj
— Krispy Kreme (@krispykreme) February 8, 2025
As the outage continued into Saturday, frustration grew among the gaming community.
PS5 hunters, thanks for your patience and understanding during this weekend’s PSN service issues. To account for reduced OBT2 play time due to the outage, we are considering running OBT2 for an additional 24 hours at a future date. Exact details and timing are TBD, so please stay…
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) February 9, 2025
The disruption coincided with a promotional weekend for “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” where players could earn double XP, leading to increased disappointment. Many gamers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the lack of updates from Sony.
By Saturday afternoon, reports indicated that some players could access the service again, but connectivity remained inconsistent. The PlayStation status page eventually showed all systems operational by Saturday evening.
Sony Reveals Compensation For All PS Plus Players After PSN Outage via @forbes https://t.co/1OYHnjGhCv pic.twitter.com/Cp7u6DZisF
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) February 9, 2025
This 24-hour disruption is the second-longest PSN outage ever, following the infamous 2011 outage caused by hackers, which lasted for three weeks.
Psn outage sparks gamer frustration
Sony issued an apology for the inconvenience and attributed the disruption to an “operational issue.” As a gesture of goodwill, PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an extra five days of service. However, nonsubscribers will not receive any compensation.
Speculation arose about the cause of the outage, with some pointing to a possible cyberattack. However, Sony’s statement seems to rule out the possibility of a hack, as no group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Typically, when major corporations suffer a hack, a group will come forward, making demands or publicizing their involvement.
Despite the technical difficulties, some players found creative ways to cope. Krispy Kreme even joined in by offering free doughnuts to gamers during the outage, intending to sweeten the sour experience. While the network is back online, Sony’s transparency about the true nature of the “operational issue” remains limited.
Moving forward, it is unlikely that PlayStation will provide a more detailed explanation about what exactly went wrong with PSN over the weekend. At least, the inconvenience now seems to be resolved, relieving PlayStation users of further headaches.
