Turned 18? Now You Can Turn Your PSN Sub Account Into A Master

Even gamers grow older. There comes a time when a young gamer reaches a certain legal number of years where he or she can get access to content previously unavailable to them, legally or otherwise. When that coming of age does arrive, Sony will now let them easily gradate from a PSN Sub Account to a Master Account as easily as flicking a switch. Sony says this is a much requested feature and, considering that a lot of gamers probably turn 18 every year, it's somewhat puzzling it took them this long to implement it.

Sub Accounts is Sony's way of letting parents exercise control over their children's gaming activities as well as protecting itself from liability. Sub Account holders can only view and buy content appropriate for their age group (7 to 12 and 13 to 17 to be exact). They also have certain limits to what parts of the PSN experience they have access to. Only Master Account holders, a.k.a.parents, can create sub accounts and only they can add funds to sub accounts, imposing buying limits, of course.

Before today, one cannot transition from a sub account to a master account even when the sub account holder reaches the age of 18, which allows them to have a master account of their own. The previous sub account holder will have to create a new account, which means they will have to leave their previous PSN identity, not to mention their achievements, stuck at being a minor. Fortunately, now you can upgrade your account.

It doesn't happen automatically, however. You will have to log in to your sub account and flick the switch yourself, which will only be available if you're already 18. For now, you can only do so from a web browser but in the future you will be able to make the switch from the PlayStation 4 directly. Do be aware than when you do so, the Master Account user (your parents) will be notified of the change.

SOURCE: Sony