Thanks to the Coronavirus, PlayStation is slowing download speeds in Europe to reduce bandwidth usage

You’re home, you’re not allowed outside and you’ve got a backlog to catch up on while the Coronavirus dies a slow death outside due to quarantine procedures. Fortunately, video games are more than capable of scratching an itch to keep your mind occupied. Double-unfortunately, you’re going to need to find something else to do while said game downloads, because Sony is looking to preserve Europe’s Internet system by slowing down the rate at which the latest titles are downloaded. How Sony plans to make slower downloads even more arduous, is beyond me.

“Playing videogames enables players all over the world to connect with friends and family and enjoy much needed entertainment during these uncertain times,” President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan explained on the PS Blog.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is working with internet service providers in Europe to manage download traffic to help preserve access for the entire internet community. 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.

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.

In case you’re laughing in South African, don’t chuckle too much. As a territory that falls within the European space because reasons, chance are we’ll also be affected. We’re plenty used to that already though, as our current PlayStation game download speeds couldn’t possibly get any slower…right? I’ve jinxed us and I am so sorry you guys.

Last Updated: March 24, 2020