PlayStation announced on March 18, 2026, that it will drop the PlayStation Network and PSN branding in September 2026. In an email sent out to developers, they announced that the dropping of PlayStation Network and PSN is purely visual. The change is intended to reflect their ever-evolving digital services, but it is unclear what type of branding they are shifting toward. PlayStation has yet to say all is known. It’s going to reflect all of PlayStation.
In the email sent out about the dropping of the PlayStation Network branding, they stated that the change is purely visual and will not introduce any technical alterations to their offerings. They are trying to simplify and unify their branding, so the terms “PlayStation Network” and “PSN” must be phased out of all SEI assets by September 2026. Also, the features associated with PSN, such as multiplayer, Trophies, and friends, will remain unaffected and continue to be available for players. They also say that developers must align with their updated TRC guidelines and branding guidelines so that PSN is removed from all assets, future releases, and external service interfaces.
With this new announcement, it is unclear what the new name will be for the network. All that is known is that it will reflect all of the company. PlayStation seems to be making lots of moves this year, as of recently, such as no longer dropping first-party titles to PC. Many wonder if these changes are to go all in on the PlayStation brand only on console and all these changes will reflect that, or if they want to branch out to something more. Either way, the branding changes will take place throughout all of 2026, and the name PlayStation Network and PSN will be retired by September 2026. All there is to wait and see what they plan to do next.