PlayStation Ups Its Security Measures With Passkey Support

Deviation Games, the new studio partnered with PlayStation, has shut down just a few years after saying its Sony collaboration would bring "complete financial security." 

You probably subscribe to PlayStation Plus for online gaming and a catalog of on-demand games, but your subscription also comes with access to a selection of free movies as part of Sony Pictures Core. Here's how you can start watching today.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake project trilogy will be console-exclusive to PlayStation, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president of second- and third-party content ventures and strategic initiatives Christian Svensson.

Update: Sony has officially released the PS5 Slim, which is slowly starting to replace the original model at retail. All the details and links you need have been added below.

The PlayStation 5 is in a curious place right now. The system is technically on a pace that eclipses its predecessor, one of the best-selling systems of all time. That’s impressive. However, it’s a bit murkier on the software side of things and the business side of things. Sony announced that there wouldn’t be a 1st party game from a familiar franchise until at least March of next year. Then, you have to recall the Sony layoffs that rocked the gaming industry last week when they let 900 people go from their global studios. So, yeah, it’s been a weird start to 2024.

Sony has confirmed March 2024’s PlayStation Plus Essential games.

Despite mixed receptions to its reveal and niche usage, Sony’s PlayStation Portal has done pretty well, selling out in the UK and United States within two days of launch. If you thought demand had slowed over the months, PlayStation vice president of product management Hiromi Wakai confirmed the opposite.

Sony is rolling out passkey support on PlayStation platforms globally as an alternative way for users to access their PlayStation Network accounts. The company made the announcement Monday and said that passkeys would offer a more secure and convenient way for PlayStation users to sign in and access experiences on the platform. PlayStation offered password-based sign in option until now, along with security features like two-step verification. Passkeys would eliminate the need to remember passwords and would instead tie account and services access to device-specific unique identification like fingerprint scan, Face ID on iPhone, or a PIN.

Japan's Sony is cutting about 900 jobs at its PlayStation unit and shutting a studio in London, it said on Tuesday as the videogame industry struggles to recover from a post-pandemic slump.

They say you don’t know what’ll work until you try it out, and that’s been a staple of the gaming industry for decades! Between arcades, consoles, handhelds, and everything in between, publishers and developers have tried anything and everything to get people to come to their systems and try out their stuff. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes, you get a revolution, and that can lead to big things on the horizon. Last year, Sony unveiled the PlayStation Portal feature, which would give fans a mobile way to play their PS5 games in a more mobile capacity. At first, it seemed like a “weird peripheral” to have. However, the heads of Sony have been blown away by what it’s doing.

Anyone working in the video game industry must feel as if they have a target painted on their back. 2023 saw at least 6000 people lose their jobs and 2024 is somehow looking much worse. January saw Microsoft sack 9000 people, there’s been a raft of smaller studio closures and staff cuts. Now Sony has joined this miserable party, handing 900 PlayStation workers their notices across the company.

[UPDATE] According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Sony has also canceled the new Twisted Metal live service game in early development at Firesprite for PlayStation 5 (and possibly PC).