PlayStation Plus subscribers will get five extra days for free

Sony has addressed the widespread PlayStation Network (PSN) outage that disrupted service for nearly 24 hours this past weekend. While the company acknowledged an "operational issue" in a social media statement, specifics regarding the cause and preventative measures remain undisclosed.

To compensate affected users, PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive a five-day extension to their subscriptions, automatically applied to their accounts.

The outage resulted in significant gameplay disruptions. A substantial portion of players (over one-third) were unable to log in, with others reporting server crashes.

The incident underscores concerns raised by players regarding Sony's requirement of a PSN account, even for single-player games on PC. This mandatory account linkage, critics argue, amplifies the impact of PSN outages.

This isn't the first major PSN disruption. The infamous April 2011 data breach resulted in over 20 days of connectivity problems. Although less severe, the recent outage has left PS5 users frustrated by Sony's limited communication and lack of transparency.