Finally. After 12 years, Sony is going to allow PlayStation Network users to change their username.
Starting with a beta test for pre-registered testers in November as part of the PlayStation Preview Program, you will be able to change your PlayStation name, a feature that has been surprisingly absent, and heavily requested, since the launch of the PlayStation Network in 2006.
According to the official blog post by PlayStation social media director, Sid Shuman, you will be able to change your ID as many times as you want during preview program, under one caveat–the first name change is free, and every name change after that will cost $9.99 USD for general PlayStation Network members, or $4.99 USD for PlayStation Plus subscribers.
Users will also have the option of displaying their old names alongside their new names, so friends can still recognize each other after name changes.
Every game published after April 1, 2018, will support the new username infrastructure, but not all games before that will, according to the blog post. Additionally, Shuman has acknowledged that users may experience technical issues after changing usernames, and that reverting back to the original username might be necessary to remedy the problems.
The PlayStation Preview Program will begin in November, and the option for everyone to change names is scheduled for an early 2019 release.