PlayStation’s community is made up of incredible players who are instrumental to our success at Sony Interactive Entertainment.  Each and every player’s account, and associated identity on PlayStation, is a central and core aspect that unlocks access to all the amazing experiences PlayStation has to offer.  Purchasing and playing games, accessing media & services, connecting with friends, competitive match-making, personalized experiences, and well-earned gaming trophies, all rely on a player’s identity.

In recognizing how valuable that identity is for each individual, we‘ve consistently improved the ways that players can enrich that identity to ensure that PlayStation continues to be the ‘Best Place to Play.’

At the same time, we have also continuously introduced enhanced ways to protect and safeguard those player identities, including customer-facing security features like 2-step verification, as well as layers of protective systems and services that silently work behind the scenes.

A Balance of Convenience & Security

With each new feature introduction, we are increasingly mindful of the balance we must consider between ease of use, quickly accessing games and entertainment experiences, and minimizing potential friction that can result from additional security measures.

Historically, a challenge for Sony Interactive and the tech & gaming industry as a whole, is that the use of passwords have been a limitation both in how well an identity can be protected and how quickly and easily someone can access experiences if a password is forgotten, compromised, or simply just difficult to enter on a given device.

Facing the challenge of passwords, but keeping that balance of elevated convenience and increased security in mind, we’re proud to announce the global release of passkeys as an alternative option to passwords.  We believe passkeys are the next step in offering our community a more convenient and more secure way to sign in and access all of the great experiences PlayStation has to offer.

What are Passkeys?

Passkeys are digital credentials that are automatically generated using cryptography. This modern alternative to passwords gives users the ability to log in to platforms and devices with a unique passkey for each online service. It allows you to access your account without a password. Instead, you sign in through your mobile device or computer using the same convenient device screen unlocking method, like a fingerprint, face scan, or PIN. 

Strong and phishing-resistant, passkeys adhere to Fast Identity Online (FIDO) standards which were established by the FIDO Alliance, an alliance of which Sony Group is proudly a part of. The FIDO Alliance is a global authentication standards organization that strives to reduce the world’s reliance on passwords by promoting the development, use of, and compliance with cutting-edge standards for authentication across an inclusive library of devices and platforms.

This standard is supported by major platforms and devices from leading tech companies. As part of the FIDO Alliance, we’ve worked with members of these major companies and institutions to design a truly improved sign-in experience.

You can get started using passkeys now by setting it up on your account. As an additional benefit, if you use other Sony services with the same account, passkeys will work with those services as well.

You can find more information at http://playstation.com/passkey. 

A New Age of Security

Technology evolves over time and along with that comes a need for evolving standards and efforts for protecting users. Passkeys are one such advancement for us, aimed at keeping our player community safe and secure. 

At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we are constantly mindful of the wide and diverse sets of people within our community and the need for flexible security and safety measures to fit different ways of play. From ensuring our player community has a safe, secure, and welcoming online experience, to improving and evolving our products and services on PlayStation, the integration of passkey is the latest example of how we continue to safeguard our players while maintaining the best and most seamless user gaming experience, so you can do less worrying, and more gaming.