Feb 03, 2017 05:18 AM EST By Dan Camins, UniversityHerald Reporter

The PlayStation Network went down at 12:25 PM EST, major outages have been reported around the world by gamers claiming to have disruptions while some cannot login into their accounts.

Upon receiving reports, Sony confirmed the reports that the PlayStation Network is not functioning normally for many of its users and said their engineers are looking into what caused the problem. The disruption reportedly prevents users from logging into PlayStation Network, according to The Express.

Sony likewise acknowledged the reports on Twitter, asking users for their patience as they investigate. However, for some who does get through and are connected, problems arise when games are launched, as well as setting up matches, and even booting up applications.

According to The Mirror, most of the reported issues originate from the United Kingdom and Europe, accordingly, part of the U.S. is affected by the reported outage. This does not mean that the PlayStation will not work, but online issues are affecting a significant portion of players as of this writing.

Below is a list of the affected PlayStation Network services:

•  Account Management
•  Gaming and Social
•  PlayStation Now
•  PlayStation Video
•  PlayStation Vue
•  PlayStation Store
•  PlayStation Music

Outraged gamers have suggested that the PlayStation Network could have been the victim of a DDoS attack. Users note that they are receiving a maintenance error code WS-37432-9. Sony neither confirmed nor denied the suggestion but said they are looking into the matter.

A Twitter account linked to a known hackers group called LizardSquad has owned up to the disruption. The claim has yet to be verified if it is genuine, citing that some Twitter accounts are fake.

UPDATES:

Regular updates were provided to users following the disruption of service. At 8:45 AM PT, the PlayStation Network reported that Gaming and Social were back up, while Management and PlayStation Store are still having issues.

A third update was issued at 9:30 AM PT, Ask Playstation UK reported that all services should be back up and running. We will update this report as soon as the information is available on what caused the service disruption.

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