PlayStation ban hits Kazakhstan over possible access by sanctioned countries

Sony has not yet connected Kazakhstan to the PlayStation Store due to concerns that players from Russia and other sanctioned countries could use Kazakhstani accounts to bypass restrictions, according to Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s minister of digital development.

Madiyev said that he met with Japanese embassy officials and passed on a formal connection request to Sony.

«So far, there has been no feedback. If we can arrange a meeting with the company, we will definitely raise this issue. Sony’s main concern is that citizens of countries where they are prohibited from operating could use Kazakhstani accounts to access their services,» Madiyev explained during a government briefing.

In June 2024, when asked about Sony PlayStation’s absence in Kazakhstan and whether it was time to give up on the effort, Madiyev expressed optimism. He stated that he hadn’t lost hope and planned to negotiate further if given the opportunity.

In March 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment pulled out of the Russian market. As a result, Kazakhstani PlayStation users, many of whom had accounts linked to the Russian region, have been unable to create accounts tied to Kazakhstan or purchase games online through official stores.

At that time, former Minister of Digitization Bagdat Mussin instructed his team to address the issue of Kazakhstan’s PlayStation owners lacking access to the online store. A year later, the minister reported that Sony had not responded to any requests from the Kazakhstani government. He promised to ask Kazakhstan’s embassy in Japan to initiate negotiations with Sony’s office, but the issue remains unresolved.

In December 2023, Kazakhstanis flooded PlayStation’s official Instagram account with a single request: to connect the country to the PlayStation Network. One of the posts had garnered more than 37,000 comments at the time of publication.