Sony is finally allowing PlayStation Network users to change their names soon, but it appears the feature may come with a few more caveats than expected. Sony previously warned of some game and app compatibility issues in the initial announcement. According to users in the beta, though, an attached disclaimer warns that players are warned they could lose lots of information associated with their account, including DLC purchases and saved games.
The disclaimer was leaked by beta members on the ResetEra forum. It notes that not all games and applications support the online ID change feature, so players who use it may lose access to content including virtual currency, game progress like saved game data, leaderboard data, and Trophy progress. It also notes that some games might not function properly, even offline, and your prior ID could remain visible to other players in some situations. If you run into issues with the change, according to the users, you can revert back to your original username at no additional fee. But that may not resolve all of the problems.
It's difficult to tell from the disclaimer how widespread these bugs could be, or even if Sony is simply covering its bases by warning of possible complications. Still, if you've been looking forward to changing your name you may want to wait for more information on how common these problems are.
If you're in the beta, or once the feature launches in full, you can change your name once for free. After that it will be $10 USD/CAD / €9.99 / £7.99 for subsequent changes, or half those prices for PlayStation Plus members.
The preview program will last until the end of November, and then the full feature will roll out to all users in early 2019. All games published after April 1, 2018 will be compatible, and Sony will issue a full list of compatible games published before that date when the feature goes live for everyone. Once it's live, you'll make the change through the Settings menu or the Profile page. You can also choose to display your old PSN ID next to the new one so that friends will recognize you, but once you make that decision you can't change it.