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Hundreds of users on PlayStation have reported that their accounts were receiving an unexplained permanent ban from Sony, but it seems those bans were made in error and Sony has now corrected the issue.
On December 4 reports from tons of users across the web started piling in about getting locked out of their accounts. First seen by The Verge, permanent account suspensions were being handed out to players without any warning or explanation from Sony. One user on the gaming forum ResetEra says they were in the middle of a game when the account suspension alert came in. They were then locked out of the account. It would be easy to dismiss these reports as users doing something they shouldn’t have if it weren’t for the numerous other users reporting the same problem.
Over on Reddit, one user in the PlayStation thread notes their suspension came up without warning as well. Other users in the comments report having the same issues and that after reaching out to Sony, they weren’t being given a reason for the ban. In some cases, users were simply told they couldn’t helped and to make a new account. More users on X have reported the same problem. There is a silver lining though. Sony seems to have been aware of the permanent ban error with PlayStation accounts and has restored access.
Sony has restored access to PlayStation accounts following the permanent ban error
As The Verge notes, bans seem to have been lifted for most accounts. It’s still unclear why the bans were ever issued in the first place. As of right now, Sony hasn’t issued any statements about the bans. However many of the users who had the problem in the first place have reported the bans were reversed.
I didn’t notice any ban alerts on my own personal PSN account after checking the PS5. And was able to load up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III last night and this morning to double-check. So the bans weren’t happening to everyone. But they do seem to have been pretty widespread.
It’s also unclear if all the bans made in error have been restored at this time. But it does seem that the majority of those accounts may be accessible again. It seems unlikely another large wave of erroneous bans will be issued. But if you do receive a ban, your best bet is to reach out to PlayStation support. If you’re confident it’s an error you can also try to appeal.