The PlayStation Network has been experiencing a multi-hour outage since Friday evening. Sony's PSN status page indicated issues with account management, gaming and social features, PlayStation Video, the PlayStation Store, and the PlayStation Direct website.
The outage has affected online gameplay in popular titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Marvel Rivals, as well as license verification for offline single-player games. PlayStation acknowledged the problem on its support webpage and is working on a resolution.
Gamers worldwide, including Jeff Thigpen from Dallas, have reported problems accessing the network. Jeff expressed frustration over not being able to play his purchased games due to the outage, highlighting the dissatisfaction among players affected.
The timing of the outage during a significant weekend for the gaming industry, noted by Connor Clarke from the Sheffield Games Collective, amplifies the frustration. Events like a free beta of Monster Hunter Wild and a double XP weekend in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 are affected, leaving many players unable to participate.
Mr. Clarke emphasized the unusual duration of this outage surpassing 12 hours, causing immense frustration for multiplayer gamers and those unable to access their downloaded single-player games due to license verification issues.
BBC News has reached out to PlayStation and Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard for comments on the situation.