Sony is now slowing down PlayStation downloads in the US

Sony is working with internet service providers in the US to slow game download speeds in an effort to preserve internet capacity for users overall, the company announced on its blog today. The company already enacted this policy in Europe earlier this week. This means players will have “somewhat slower or delayed“ times downloading games; Sony has said previously that gameplay will remain “robust” for those playing online. Companies such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, and Disney have reduced video streaming quality to help with the strain from millions of people now being stuck at home as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.

YouTube has dropped the default quality of videos to standard definition worldwide, though high definition (HD) can still be manually selected. “We will continue to take appropriate action to do our part to help ensure internet stability as this unprecedented situation continues to evolve,” Sony’s post reads. So far, Microsoft has yet to directly confirm whether it’s throttling Xbox download speeds in a similar fashion.