In August of 2022, the PlayStation 4 became the fourth-place, best-selling console of all time, behind the Nintendo Game Boy, the Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation 2. PlayStations don’t just sell in the United States, of course. 

With 117 million PlayStation 4 units out there, an active PlayStation 3 user base, and PlayStation 5 sales still holding strong across the world, odds are good that some of those systems are being played in countries in which they weren’t purchased. 

If you are planning a trip to Europe (or live in Europe, purchasing a stateside PlayStation 5), it’s understandable that you may be worried about whether or not the PlayStation will work outside of the states.

Will a US Playstation Work in Europe?

Fortunately, your US PlayStation is not geo-locked and will work in Europe, so as long as you have the right power cable or adapter. You’ll be able to play all your games, however, BluRays, DVDs, and game DLCs may be geo-locked and that can make the transition less seamless than it could be.

Your PlayStation Network account is region locked, unlike the physical device and that makes things a little bit complicated. If you created your account in Georgia, your account is probably region locked to the southeast region of the United States.

It’s a server thing. They don’t want millions of accounts to all be jumping on the same servers and they don’t want someone in Georgia jumping on the same servers as someone in California. It creates a problem if you like to purchase digital content. 

PlayStation games are not geo-restricted so if you move to a new region, you’ll still be able to play all your own games.

The types of content that might be inaccessible are BluRays, DVDs, streaming services, and game downloadable content. DLC might need to match the region the game was bought in, so if you bought the game in the US, you’ll need to purchase the DLC from the US PlayStation store for it to be compatible.

You’ll still be able to use your US PlayStation account in Europe to play and buy digital games with American PSN store credit, however, the video store won’t be available because it is account-based and not tied to the console.

Along with your US account, you can also set up a new European PSN account and purchase games and content locally in Euro, but your new PSN account will have no association with your US PSN account.

So if you won’t be staying in Europe for long, you may be better off just sticking with your US account so everything will continue as normal when you get back to America.

Some streaming services might also block you. Netflix will work but the library of content will be set to the country you are in.

Related Article: Can You Leave Your PlayStation On Overnight? (Why You Might Not Want To)

You’ll Need a New Power Supply Or An Adapter

If you’re thinking about taking your US power supply with you to Europe, well, it might make a decent paperweight over there because that’s all it’s useful for. You’ll need a (insert your PlayStation here) power supply. 

Or, you need to pick up an adaptor. In Europe, the most common power outlets are C, F, E, and L. In the UK, they stick with G. You’ll need a reliable breakdown of which countries use which socket types so you can purchase the correct adapter or purchase a Playstation power cord in that country.

110V or 220V?

Sony, for whatever reason, spends a lot of time trying to convince people that PlayStations, specifically the PlayStation 4, are only good for 110V. However, if you look at the system specs, it’s clear that it accepts 100 to 240V at 50/60Hz. 

So it’s not going to hurt your PlayStation 4 if you plug it into a wall with 220V. It will be just fine. 

The only thing you have to worry about when traveling to another country is using a new PSN account and locating a decent US to (whatever country type) adapter so you can power your PlayStation. Other than that, you shouldn’t have any problems at all.

Bottom Line

PlayStations are not region locked, so you can play your PS4 or PS5 in any country you like. However, your PSN account is region locked, so you will need to create an all-new account in whichever region you are in. 

It’s possible to get around this by using a VPN but unless it’s a matter of playing with friends from another country, there is no real advantage to it other than anonymity.