PS5 homebrew developer Gezine has shown a working exploit on firmware 14.10, the latest PlayStation 5 software, just a month before GTA 6 launches. In a short video posted on X with the caption "Hello 14.10," Gezine opens the console's debug settings, and apparently it gets past the protections Sony added with the 14.10 update on October 1. The jailbreak is private for now, and there's no word on whether Gezine plans to release it. The timing is what makes this interesting. Sony's 14.00 update in mid-September disrupted the Relapse exploit that had been working on firmware 13.60, and 14.10 followed with more security fixes. Players are also reporting that Sony now requires 14.10 to sign in to PSN.

On top of that, datamining account PlayStation Game Size found that GTA 6 needs firmware 14.10 to run, though neither Rockstar nor Sony has confirmed this. However, this doesn't mean pirated copies of GTA 6 are around the corner. The hypervisor bypass that the scene uses to dump and run game backups doesn't work on 14.10 yet, and Gezine reportedly said a separate hypervisor exploit may be needed. Until then, backups, and by extension apps like Overdrive that allegedly hand out free games and DLC, seemingly aren't an option on the latest firmware. Some people in the community have asked Gezine to hold off on a release until after GTA 6 launches, since going public now would likely prompt Sony to patch it.

If your PlayStation 5 hasn't received a system update recently, it might now be open to usable jailbreak. A newly released jailbreak called Relapse works on firmware versions from 7.00 through 13.60, covering both the standard PS5 and the PS5 Pro. In simple terms, nearly every console is now exploitable, except for those updated within the last week. This release comes at a convenient time for Marvel's Wolverine. The game requires firmware 13.40, while patch 1.001.005 needs 13.60. A console on 13.60 can remain exploitable while running the game and at least some updates, although the latest download from PSN might require firmware 14.00.

Few jailbreaks target a title this recent, which is why researchers and PC emulation developers are closely monitoring the game. According to its GitHub repository, Relapse uses a combination of a browser exploit, and a kernel exploit to gain full read-write control over the system's core memory. From there, it can load additional payloads like etaHEN through a loader that listens on port 9021. To get started, follow two steps: first, change the Primary DNS in the console's network settings to 45.56.67.85. Then, either run the project's serve.py script on a local machine or open the Relapse Exploit website from the PS5 itself.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls officially started an open beta test on the morning of July 24, but shortly after the beta went live, users started reporting that they could not access the game due to a PlayStation Account error. The beta, went live across PC, PS5, and Xbox platforms, has reportedly been inaccessible to many players for much of the day, with Downdetector showing between 1,500 and 7,000 error reports every 15 minutes by users since the early hours of the open beta. Errors don't seem to be limited to any specific system, which makes sense, since the PlayStation Account login is required for all platforms. Arc System Works and PlayStation have acknowledged the issue, commenting in a post on X that there will be server maintenance until 16:00 PST (01:00 UTC).

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls on XThe MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Open Beta will be temporarily taken offline for maintenance. The maintenance end time is 4PM PST. Updates will be shared through the game's official channels.

We apologize for the inconveniences this may cause. Thank you for your patience.

Following similar restrictions on Helldivers 2—and the ensuing backlash—reports have emerged that Sony will be restricting the sale of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, banning at least 132 countries from buying the game, according to package details in SteamDB. The long list of banned countries suggests that a PSN account will once again be mandatory for Fighting Souls, although the list of countries has shrunk to 132 countries from the 177 countries where Helldivers 2 was unavailable. The same restrictions are present for all versions of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.

It was already previously confirmed that Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls would require a PSN account, thanks to the notice on the game's Steam page. Sony famously walked back the PSN account requirement for Helldivers 2 after community backlash, and it seems as though the community is reacting strongly to the news of regional restrictions for Fighting Souls, so it's still possible that Sony could reverse course ahead of the game's August 6 release date. This news is the latest in PlayStation's growing list of bad news, which recently included the announcement that Sony would no longer be producing physical games media as of January 2027—a move that's been widely criticized, as well as by the Video Game History Foundation—and the recent news that Sony will effectively no longer be porting its single-player games to PC.

One of the often-touted benefits of console gaming is how physical media enables access to games, even when there is no internet connection for the DRM to verify the game's license. Now, it seems as though the Sony's PS5 will start locking players out of digital-only games if the console has been unable to connect to PSN servers within the last 30 days. This is according to testing done by Hikikomori Media, who found the issue with Wild Arms 4 and Vampire Crawlers, both of which were purchased as digital-only titles in April 2026.

The content creator simulated an offline PS5 by disconnecting it from the internet, resetting the internal clock by removing the CMOS battery, and then booting up the PS5 without an internet connection. Effectively, he tricked the PS5 into thinking that it had been offline for an extended period of time. The end result is that both Wild Arms 4 and Vampire Crawlers were unable to launch after the reboot. It's notable that games purchased before March 2026 would still launch without a hitch. Based on this testing and further testing with a PS4, which revealed a timer showing how long it had been since the console could call home, it seems as though games purchased after March 2026 will need to connect to PSN servers at least once every 30 days in order to be playable.

It seems as though 2026 will be the year of age verification for online communication platforms. Following the prior news about Discord starting to require age verification for all accounts—a move that the company later walked back after backlash—it has now been revealed that Sony will soon start to mandate age verification for PSN online communication features. This is according to a report by Push Square, which shared a screenshot of an age verification prompt from the PlayStation Store.

The screenshot shows a QR code that redirects users to start an age verification process on their smartphones, which would prompt users to provide a copy of their ID, perform a facial scan, or receive a text message on their mobile phone that uses information stored by the mobile network provider to ascertain their age. Sony has more details about the age verification options on a FAQ page. At the time of writing, age verification seems to be limited to the UK and Ireland, but this seems to be a move to comply with recent age verification requirements, and there are currently age verification laws being implemented or talked about everywhere from the US to the EU, and Australia, and all of those laws restrict teens and children from accessing similarly risky or potentially harmful content online, meaning similar processes may be implemented across the board.

According to Insider Gaming, Sony will soon be rebranding the PlayStation Network branding, including "PSN," by September 2026. This news comes by way of an email sent to developers in preparation for the branding shift—likely as a way to ensure that future game marketing messaging reflects the change. The email explains that the shift away from PSN and PlayStation Network "properly capture the breadth of our evolving digital service," but that the change is merely a branding exercise, so it seems unlikely that the actual functionality of the service will change. At the time of writing, it's unclear what will replace PSN and PlayStation Network, but it seems reasonable to assume some more generic branding will take its place. The full email follows.

Sony is reportedly testing a new feature called "Cross-Buy" that would allow games purchased for its proprietary PlayStation platform to also be added to a corresponding PC library. An independent inspection by X user @yAmethxst of PlayStation Network assets revealed that a "crossbuy" tag and "PS5 / PC" store assets were added in June 2025. This is not an ordinary feature addition or a legacy feature, as it is specifically designed for future release. A potential Cross-Buy option for PlayStation consoles would give gamers the option to run the same game on their PCs, which might be equipped with a powerful GPU. Much like Microsoft's approach with Xbox, Sony aims to keep its customers engaged with their PlayStation platforms by avoiding the need for separate game libraries.

However, some technicalities would need to be sorted out first. For example, since there is no unified PC storefront, where would Sony host these titles? Since Sony doesn't operate a PC storefront, it would have to either rely on Steam or Epic, or develop its own PC storefront port. Both options seem realistic, but managing things like entitlement servers, account linking, and cross-platform verification, all while maintaining existing DRM and store policies, is a very difficult task. So we are still in the dark about how the potential implementation of Cross-Buy would play out.

Ghost of Yōtei's release date has finally been confirmed as October 2 of this year. Sony Entertainment today announced the October 2 release date, which is slated to be exclusive to the PlayStation 5 console for the time being, alongside new special editions of the upcoming action-adventure game. All pre-orders for Ghost of Yōtei, which start on May 2 at 10:00 AM, will include seven PSN avatars—representing Atsu and the Yōtei Six—and an in-game mask cosmetic. The base game will cost $69.99, while the $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition will include the full digital base game, four cosmetic unlocks, and an early unlock for the Travelers Map. The Collector's Edition bundle will include an array of physical collectibles—a replica of Atsu's mask from the game, a sash, tsuba, art cards, zeni hajiki coin game and pouch, and a papercraft ginko tree—along with the same in-game items as included in the Digital Deluxe Edition. All of that comes at a whopping $249.99.

Sucker Punch also released a new trailer for Ghost of Yōtei, which reveals the villainous Yōtei Six and their brutal slaughter of Atsu's people, which serve as the motivation for her revenge story. It's unclear when Ghost of Yōtei will expand to PC and other console gaming platforms, but speculation suggests that 2027 is the earliest we will see a cross-platform launch for the Ghost of Tsushima sequel. Previous reports also indicated that there will be a Ghost of Tsushima expanded universe, with possible TV and movie spin-offs on the cards.

God of War Ragnarök has been one of the most highly anticipated PC launches in recent history, although the launch has been somewhat controversial. After launching on PC via Steam and Epic Games on September 19, players discovered that the single-player narrative-driven action-adventure game would require an online PSN account in order to play. This account requirement somewhat predictably resulted in significant backlash, which, in turn, resulted in a third-party mod to remove the account requirement.

Shortly after the launch of God of War Ragnarök, the game's Steam page became inundated with negative reviews because of the PlayStation Network account required to play the game. Less than a week after launch, God of War's rating on Steam is a solid "Mixed," with only 69% positive reviews. That is compared to Metacritic's user reviews that place the PS5 version of the game at 8.1/10. Shortly after the review bombs started, though, a free mod called NoPSSDK appeared on Nexus Mods and GitHub that removes the PSN account requirement from God of War Ragnarök.

On Friday, Sony announced that Helldivers 2, a 3rd person squad-based shooter from Arrowhead, will require a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for gamers to link, in addition to their Steam accounts. However, that caused quite a stir in the gaming community, especially in the form of negative reviews on Steam. Since the May 2 announcement of mandatory PSN account linking, the game received more than 200,000 negative reviews from gamers. Not only is the PSN account another layer of log-in details, but it also doesn't work in 177 countries, effectively preventing gamers from those 177 countries from purchasing and enjoying the game. Arrowhead Studios CEO and Helldivers 2 Creative Director Johan Pilestedt noted that over the weekend, there were talks with Sony about reversing the decision.

Today, we have the information that Sony has reviewed its course and that the update requiring a PSN account, planned for May 6, will not be moving forward. This means that the game is PSN-free, and gamers are able to enjoy it on their Steam accounts. It has also been reported on Reddit that some users received refunds from Steam, even when their purchase was over two months old, and they had played 120+ hours of the game. As per the GDPR, terms that are changed after the agreement is made require action from the seller. This has resulted in Steam stepping up for gamers and issuing a refund for Helldivers 2, as PSN account linking was optional upon release. Gamers have shown their collective power, and Sony has managed to reverse its decision so that no further harm is done.

Ah, Cyberpunk 2077. The gift that keeps on giving, and the gift which will probably give the most around one-year after launch, when developer CD Projekt Red manages to fix the underlying issues and build upon features that were supposed to be there - but weren't. Following the launch debacle and subsequent removal from the PlayStation Store - which led to a severe-yet-not-crushing profit decline for the company - Cyberpunk 2077 has quickly found itself as the top selling game on PlayStation's digital storefront - a mere month after its reintroduction in version 1.22.

The game essentially climbed towards the top seller spot for the last month of June in both the US and Europe - despite having to fight its way through seasonal heavy-hitters such as FIFA 21, NBA 2K21, and the still incredibly-selling Grand Theft Auto V. And it did so with only half the days left throughout the month. With the game having been given a constant - and extremely needed - attention from CD Projekt Red via updates, and a next-gen update on the horizon (which is free to last-gen version owners, by the way), Cyberpunk 2077 could further cement itself in CD Projekt Red's portfolio - and more importantly, in gamers' minds. We collective gamers will be the judges of that.

According to the latest information coming from The Gamer, Sony is in the process of permanently closing the PlayStation Store support for its older consoles. That includes the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable. According to the source, "PSP's and PS3's [PSN] stores are to be closed on July 2, while the PS Vita store will stay open until August 27. After those dates, you will no longer be able to purchase digital copies of games or DLC for any of the Sony consoles mentioned above". This is marking an end of an era, as those are the consoles that sold in millions and are very well known in the gaming community.

The official announcement is expected to follow after this, however, we still don't know when Sony will address this officially. It shows that the company is now focusing on more modern consoles and that the 9-year-old PS Vita, 13-year-old PS3, and 16-year-old PSP are considered legacy now. The remaining consoles are the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and the latest PlayStation 5, which are all going to be supported by the PlayStation Store for a while.

Nintendo's upcoming high-performance game console, codenamed "Nintendo NX," could be the first major console in 15 years to completely do away with optical disc media. Patent applications covering the console, filed in February by Nintendo, with the USPTO, and unearthed by NeoGAF, describe a console that "is not provided with an optical disc drive." Nintendo is expected to reveal the NX some time in 2016.

This points at a new direction in which Nintendo wants to guide the console gaming industry - one in which an Internet connection is mandatory, games are bought from a centralized marketplace online, downloaded to your console's local storage (HDDs/SSDs), and played. DLCs and in-game purchases are as seamless as possible, and game progress, settings, etc., are stored on the cloud. Such a system already existed for close to a decade, with Xbox Live and PSN, but Nintendo NX will be the first platform to completely do away with optical disc media. This method could also curb piracy, since the only way your console can receive games to play is through that online marketplace.

In perhaps one of the more ironic legal moves to be seen recently, Sony's clause in its Terms of Service preventing PlayStation 3 owners from filing class action lawsuits has itself attracted a class action lawsuit! The lawsuit was filed in Northern California in November, by a man on behalf of PS3 owners who signed up for the PlayStation Network before September, when the ToS were updated and this anti-class action clause added.

The killer clause is buried deep into the contract and is very hard to spot, requiring the contract to be read all the way through with a fine toothcomb - if the reader can rise to the challenge of reading the complicated and dry legalese it's written in. Compounding the problem is that the agreement isn't even readily available online for anyone to study - it can only be viewed on the PS3 itself (so the console is already used before you can even see the agreement - hardly fair?) and appears near the bottom of the 21-page form. Previous agreements had been posted online for anyone to inspect. On top of that, the only way of opting out of it, is to mail a physical letter to Sony within 30 days of agreeing to the ToS - very inconvenient and likely to be forgotten by the average person. The main thrust of the lawsuit are allegations of unfair business practices, since PS3 owners are forced to choose between forfeiting their rights or access to the PSN. Note that since Sony introduced this clause, Electronic Arts and Microsoft have both introduced similar clauses, which doesn't put them in a very good light either and potentially at the receiving end of a lawsuit themselves.