PlayStation confirms it will slow download speeds in Europe

PlayStation is slowing download speeds in Europe in a bid to reduce the demand on networks caused by people staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We believe it is important to do our part to address internet stability concerns as an unprecedented number of people are practicing social distancing and are becoming more reliant on internet access,” said Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan.

“Players may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads but will still enjoy robust gameplay.

“We appreciate the support and understanding from our community, and their doing their part, as we take these measures in an effort to preserve access for everyone.”

Gaming platforms have seen a surge in activity in recent weeks, as governments across the world advise citizens to stay at home and avoid socialising.

Nintendo and Xbox online services recently experienced downtime, with Microsoft confirming its own outage was due to increased demand. On PC, Valve’s Steam platform broke its concurrent active user record.

On Tuesday, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the platform holder was working to ensure its services can accommodate the rise in demand.

“We understand the important role gaming is playing right now to connect people and provide joy in these isolating and stressful times, and our teams are working diligently to ensure we can be there for our players,” he said.

“To that end, we are actively monitoring performance and usage trends to ensure we’re optimizing the service for our customers worldwide and accommodating for new growth and demand.

“While these are unprecedented times we are living in, I have no doubt that we’ll come through this experience stronger than ever.”

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Apple have all reportedly reduced the speed of their European streams in a bid to help the broadband networks manage increased download traffic.