Sony is adopting new age verification policies for PlayStation users in the UK and Ireland. The company isn’t making this a blanket requirement, but steps to confirm age will be needed to access “communication, broadcasting, and certain in-game features” beginning in June 2026. That includes essentials for online and social gamers, such as joining a party, voice chatting, text messaging or using third-party chat programs such as Discord. Some in-game communication tools, like chats or sharing user-generated content, will also only be available after an age check is completed. Although the new requirements will not be enforced until summer, users are already being prompted to get the verification process squared away.
Several states and countries began adopting this type of legislation in 2025, pushing restrictions as a way to protect children and teens from inappropriate content. It seems the trend will be continuing into this year, despite the concerns about privacy risks and new questions about whether these restrictive laws are even effective at their stated goals, but companies have still been moving to comply. Discord was one of the more notable gaming-centric services to begin age verification policies last year, although the company did walk back some of its initial plans at the start of 2026 in order to better protect users’ personal data and their anonymity. Roblox also began requiring age checks and those results were not great.