SONY Sony have pledged PS Plus, PS Now, and video rental extensions

UPDATE FIVE: Sony have confirmed they will make an announcement regarding PS Plus, PS Now and video rental extensions. However, there is yet to be a statement on why the PlayStation Network was down for around 10 hours. Hacker group Phantom Squad has claimed responsibility for taking PSN offline. Fortunately, the vast majority of gamers are now able to access all PS4 features without any problems. "Thanks for your patience today - stay tuned for details on PS Plus, PS Now, and video rental extensions." PlayStation have yet to comment directly, during the 2014 holiday outage Sony offered a five-day extension to PlayStation customer subscriptions.

SONY PSN is back up and running

UPDATE FOUR: Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation Network is now back up for many PS4 and PS3 gamers affected by the earlier mass outage. The PlayStation Service Status page has now been updated to show all core PlayStation services have been reinstated. It is still unclear what caused the issues that left many PS4, PS3 and PS Vita users unable to log on to their consoles for much of today. The Express can confirm that features such as the PlayStation Store are now accessible for us in the UK and North America.

SONY PS4 and PS3 owners are being hit with this PSN error message

UPDATE THREE: Sony have released a brief update on the situation affecting the PlayStation Network. Many PS4, PS3 and PS Vita owners have been unable to use key core services connected with their consoles since around 4pm UK time, including logging in and playing online multiplayer. Reports continue to pour in of users being unable to use the PSN, one fan recently posted: "Accounts section just let me register a new user.. Been waiting three hours for it.. Things on the up..Maybe?" The PSN Service Status page still lists all features being offline, while a new update from the PlayStation support team gives little hope of a quick turnaround. "We are still working on resolving today's issues with PSN. Thanks for your continued patience," an official post reads. Many who now try to log in find themselves faced with an error message explaining that the PSN is down for maintenance. The outage is thought to be affecting PlayStation customers worldwide and isn't just limited to the UK, Europe and North America.

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UPDATE TWO: The PlayStation support team have confirmed that engineers are still investigating what has happened to the PlayStation Network. "We are currently under maintenance and you may be experiencing issues," an official PlayStation message reads. "We're aware that some users are having trouble accessing PSN. "Thanks for your patience as we investigate." It is currently unclear what has caused the latest outage, the worst experienced by fans since Christmas 2016, where players found themselves unable to log into busy servers.

SONY PS4 and PS3 fans are unable to access core PSN services

UPDATE ONE: Sony have confirmed that all core PlayStation services are offline on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita in what appears to be qn issue impacting fans worldwide. Affected areas include: Account Management

Gaming And Social

PlayStation Now

PlayStation Video

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Store

PlayStation Music An official message from Sony confirms: "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." It has left players from around the globe unable to sign in or create an account, effectively leaving many unable to use their device.

SONY All core PlayStation services are currently down

The PlayStation Now streaming service has also been taken offline, leaving fans unable to stream any titles, while media apps have been left badly affected. It is currently unclear what is causing the latest outage, although there are signs that gamers are now slowly getting access back to a few core services. The Express can confirm that we are now able to access the PlayStation Store, although this may only work for those who were already logged in to the PSN before the outage.

SONY The PSN is currently down for many users

PS4 gamers have started to report issues accessing core features, such as playing games online and buying items from the PlayStation Store. There is currently no known issue posted on the official PlayStation Network Service Status page, with all services given the greenlight. However, users say they are receiving an error message telling them that the PSN is currently "undergoing maintenance". One user wrote: "Down for maintenance.. about 5 mins after Elder Scrolls online finished THEIR two hour maintenance! "Nice if your day off is Monday!"

SONY PlayStation Network customers are currently unable to access key online services