You don’t have to be an MMO player to compete on PlayStation 4 or the Playstation 5. Every game in either system’s library is full to the brim with trophy awards for various accomplishments throughout the game—some of which are hidden or nearly impossible to obtain. 

The trophies you earn are uploaded to the PSN cloud and displayed, along with your profile, to other PlayStation players who come across it. It’s a good way to give that obnoxious git two states over a taste of their own medicine.

But if you’re not online when you play, can you still earn PSN trophies?

Can You Earn PSN Trophies Offline?

You still earn most PSN trophies even when you are playing games offline because the trophies are tied to the game, not associated with it through online play. They only get uploaded and synced to your PSN account when you are back online again.

However, if your game hasn’t been updated, has a bug, or has trophies that can only be earned through online play, you may not be able to acquire them offline.

Strangely enough, you can’t see your offline trophies. If you jump on the PlayStation Network from another location (assuming the PS5 sitting at your house is currently offline), you won’t be able to see the trophies you earned on that PS5 while playing offline. 

However, when you get back home and get the internet up and running, your offline trophies will upload to the cloud, in the background, even while you are playing. The most common thing players worry about, in terms of earning trophies, is what happens when the PSN is down.

Can You Earn PSN Trophies When The PlayStation Network is Down?

It happens from time to time, though it’s pretty rare. Whether there is just a general issue with the network or it has something to do with the update, the PlayStation Network does go down from time to time. 

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean much of anything where trophies are concerned. Even most offline games contain online elements and will let you know that you are not connected to the network when you fire up the game. 

For instance, you can still play Elden Ring without the PlayStation Network up, however, you won’t be able to engage in some of the online elements of the game. Trophies that you earned remain a part of the game and are later uploaded to the PlayStation Network when everything is back up and running again.

Related Article: Is A Gaming Steering Wheel Worth It? (And When It Isn’t)

When Can I Not Earn PSN Trophies Offline?

You may not be able to earn PSN trophies if the game you are playing has not been updated, the game has a bug or the trophies can only be obtained through online play only.

When Your Game Has Not Been Updated

One way you may not be able to earn trophies offline is if your game isn’t updated. Certain updates may include new trophies as a part of the game experience. If you are offline, you aren’t getting the latest game updates. 

You can earn all of the trophies on the current version of the game you’re playing but new trophies that come as a part of the update will remain out of reach until you update the game to the latest version.

If A Game Has A Bug

On very rare occasions there can be a bug in a game that might stop trophies that you earned offline from being synced with your PSN account. 

Watchdogs on PS4 was a game that suffered from this issue for a while and many people complained of earning trophies that never registered with their PSN account once they got back online.

The server doesn’t play a part in unlocking trophies, only uploading that data to your PSN account. Under normal circumstances, your PlayStation console can be disconnected from the internet and any trophies you earn offline will unlock just fine and sync once you get back online.

When A Trophy Can Only Be Obtained Through Online Play

Many games have trophies that can only be acquired through online play and if that’s the case, you won’t be able to earn them offline.

Many players aren’t fans of online-only trophies in games because once the game loses popularity and its online player count, getting said trophy will become a frustrating experience.

To get such a trophy, you might end up having to create or find boosting lobbies.

Bottom Line

As long as your game is working as it should, updated and the trophy you are after can be earned offline, you can still earn trophies, just like you normally would, on an offline game. 

However, if you want to sync those trophies with the PlayStation Network, you need to get your rig back online again.

Plus, you can ensure your game stays updated, so you don’t miss any new ones along the way.