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Quick Answer: While there’s no native functionality on the PS4 or the PlayStation Network (PSN) to gift games to others directly, there are some workarounds you can use.
If you’ve just finished playing a great game, it’s only natural to want to tell your friends about it.
If you bought the physical version, sending them their own copy is easy: just give them the disc, right?
But what if you bought the digital version of a game? Sure, you could Game Share, but maybe you’re uneasy about your account being signed in on a console that isn’t yours.
Thankfully, gaming platforms like Xbox and Steam allow you to gift games digitally.
But what if you want to gift someone a PlayStation 4 game? Sending it through the mail is too expensive, so there has to be another option.
So, can you gift games on PS4?
Short answer: No, but there’s a workaround.
In 2019, Sony stopped letting retailers sell digital download codes.
That meant you had to buy digital copies directly from the PlayStation Store, which doesn’t let you buy codes to gift games on the PS4.
Purchases in the PlayStation Store are immediately attached to your account. But you can still buy DLC, virtual currency, add-ons, and season pass’ from retailers in digital form, so gifting those is easy.
How to gift a game on PS4
While it would be ideal to purchase a digital game as a gift and send the game code to a friend, this functionality is currently not available directly through the PlayStation Store.
Alternatively, you can purchase a PlayStation Store gift card from authorized retailers both in-store and online.
Your friend can then redeem this gift card on their own PlayStation account to purchase games, downloadable content (DLC), subscriptions, and more
Can you gift physical PS4 games?
Yes, you can gift physical copies of games, but these would typically be purchased through retail outlets or online stores that sell physical goods, not the PlayStation Store.
Login to your account, search for the game you want to gift, and select it. Then click on the “Buy as gift” option and enter your friend’s email address and any additional information.
Once the purchase is complete, a game code will be sent to your friend’s email address. Your friend can then redeem the code on their PlayStation account and download the game.
Can you gift games on PS4?
Unfortunately, the PlayStation Store does not currently allow users to gift games on PlayStation 4.
However, there are alternative options, such as purchasing digital gift cards that can be used to buy games.
What do you think? Surprised that Sony doesn’t allow you to gift PS4 games? Let us know over on Twitter or Facebook.
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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.