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(Image: SONY)

It looks like a long-awaited feature could finally be dropping on the PlayStation Network within the next year, according to one of the company's executives.

Sony Interactive Entertainment America executive, Shawn Layden, has stated in an interview that the ability to change your username on Sony's network may come next year.

In an interview with Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller after the PlayStation Experience 2017 keynote, Layden confirmed that the company is looking into allowing players to change their PSN ID - something they would otherwise be locked into permanently once they create their account.

“The elves at the North Pole have been working on it,” Layden joked when he was asked about the much-requested feature.

“Let me put it this way: I hope we’ll see events occur so that you don’t have to ask me that question next PSX.”

This points to a solution being found within the year - though Layden also states the issue is "more complex than you think".

This contradicts what Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida said back in 2015 when asked about the likelihood of the feature going live for PSN users.

"We are aware that lots of people are asking for the feature and our engineers have been looking into what they can do," Yoshida explained.

"As soon as we know, we’ll let you know. But as of today, we don’t ever know if we can ever do it properly."

There have been rumours of the feature's implementation coming to Sony profiles for years now, but this is the closest the company has ever come to acknowledging them.

Whether users will get a one-time free change of their username, followed by a fee incurred for changing it (a la Microsoft) remains to be seen.

This comes ahead of Sony's next batch of Free PlayStation Plus January 2018 games. But in the meantime players can still download the current collection of PlayStation Plus December 2017 lineup.

The December line-up includes a cracking selection of free games for PS4, PS3, PlayStation VR and PS Vita owners to play, provided they have a PlayStation Plus subscription.

In December fans can pick up the following games:

• Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (PS4)• Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of the Legendary Legends (PS4)• Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (PS Plus bonus – PS VR Required)• That’s You! (PS Plus bonus – PlayLink)• Xblaze Lost: Memories (PS3)• Syberia Collection (PS3)• Forma 8 (PS Vita & PS4)• Wanted Corp (PS Vita)

The games are available to download now and will remain to be until early January when the new PS Plus lineup is live.

You can take a look at some of the games coming in December with the gallery above.