PlayStation Age Verification Rolls Out in Australia while Horizon 3 Release Faces Long Delay

PlayStation expands age verification requirements in Australia as Guerrilla’s next Horizon game reportedly remains far from completion.

Customers in Australia are reportedly receiving alerts asking them to prove their age as PlayStation rolls out age-verification measures to additional locations. The move follows similar measures in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is tied to restrictions on access to some adult features and content.

PlayStation’s FAQ states that adult accounts may need to be authenticated to access certain services. You can keep playing games without completing the process, but communication services such as voice chat, text messaging, parties, and other online features may not work. Some games may disable in-game communication and user-contributed material until verification is completed.

Age verification methods include facial scanning, mobile phone numbers, and credit cards. Some Australian users said they received notifications even when the verification option was not easily available. Warnings have also been issued regarding older PlayStation Network accounts, so consumers who have had accounts for many years may be asked to confirm their age.

The deployment is part of a broader trend for more regulation of online gambling. It's the law and regulations that require age verification, not a PlayStation decision, but it does mean platforms collect and handle more data from consumers. This change could significantly affect online communities, especially those that commonly use voice chat, texting, and party services.

PlayStation said customers who don’t complete authentication can still play, but some communication and social services will be banned. The subject is especially timely, given how much more regulated the online gaming landscape is today than in the early days of console multiplayer.

PlayStation Age Verification Expansion Sparks Further Online Gaming Privacy Concerns

The source goes on to explain that the freedom and fellowship that characterized online gaming in the late 2000s were progressively replaced by a more stifling atmosphere. But the most ominous news for PlayStation lovers is Horizon 3. Horizon Hunters Gathering has allegedly been Guerrilla Games’ main project for years, while Horizon 3 had only a small team working on its early phases.

Guerrilla is still working on live service stuff; thus, Horizon 3 may not come for years. This suggests Horizon 3 could be some time away. If Hunters Gathering is canceled and Guerrilla’s crew is dedicated to Horizon 3, the timeframe for the next mainline Horizon game could stretch into the early 2030s.

Putting this in perspective, compared to Naughty Dog’s development timeline. The Last of Us Online was canceled in 2023, but many of those Naughty Dog employees moved to Intergalactic, which is set to release in 2027. If Guerrilla maintains a similar four-year development cycle after moving most of its workforce to Horizon 3, then 2031 is a likely earliest timeframe.

Horizon fans waited over ten years to see the trilogy come to a close. This might mean Horizon 3 launches a decade or so after Horizon Forbidden West. The last game ended with a major threat hanging over the story, making such a long wait especially painful for gamers invested in Aloy’s journey.

The source also cautions that Horizon 3's delay could affect Guerrilla's productivity beyond the trilogy. With development requiring four or five years, the corporation could easily spend much of the following decade wrapping up Horizon 3 before moving on to another new project.

The source doesn't specify the future of Horizon Hunters Gathering for now or a release date for Horizon 3. What we do know is that PlayStation’s age verification rollout is underway in Australia, while Horizon fans may have to wait for the next core installment.