PlayStation confirms it’s now slowed download speeds in the US

PlayStation has confirmed that it has slowed download speeds in the US, in a bid to reduce demand caused by people staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The action will take effect from today and follows similar measures put in place for Europe earlier this week.

“We are grateful for the role we play in helping deliver a sense of community and entertainment in these very trying times,” PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said in a statement.

“Thank you again for your support, your patience, and for being part of the PlayStation community. Please stay home and stay safe.”

In its original announcement for Europe, PlayStation said that players may experience “somewhat slower or delayed game downloads” but will still enjoy “robust gameplay.”

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.