After a 24-hour outage, PlayStation Network (PSN) is back online for PS4 and PS5 users worldwide. The disruption, which lasted from February 7 to February 8, affected players across different regions, preventing them from accessing online services. Sony did not tell users the reason for the outage. However, the company did issue an apology confirming that all services are now back to normal.
Monster Hunter Wilds beta may be extended
For Monster Hunter Wilds fans, the outage meant missing part of Open Beta Test 2, which started on February 7 and runs until February 10. Since PS5 players lost a full day of access, Capcom has suggested extending the beta for an additional 24 hours at a later date.
A post from the official Monster Hunter X account acknowledged the situation, stating:
“To account for reduced Open Beta Test 2 play time due to the outage, we are considering running Open Beta Test 2 for an additional 24 hours at a future date. Exact details and timing are to be determined, so please stay tuned.”
Although this news is only relevant for Monster Hunter fans, it ensures affected players get another opportunity to participate in the beta before the game’s full release.
PlayStation Plus subscribers get 5 free days
Beyond the Monster Hunter beta extension, PlayStation has also announced five free days of PlayStation Plus for all existing subscribers. This move compensates for the lost time during the outage. A statement from Ask PlayStation confirmed:
“Network services have fully recovered from an operational issue. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank the community for their patience. All PlayStation Plus members will automatically receive an additional 5 days of service.”
The extra days will apply automatically, meaning subscribers do not have to take any action to make it work. However, those without a PlayStation Plus subscription do not receive any compensation.
No details on preventing future outages
Sony has fixed the issue but has not said what caused it or how they will stop it from happening again. The 24-hour outage was the second worst in PSN history, after the 2011 hack that shut it down for 24 days. Though PSN is now stable, many users want Sony to share more and promise to avoid big problems like this in the future.
Source: Giz China
