Sony has begun restoring its Playstation Network in the US and Europe, with full service expected by the end of May.
The company shut the service down last month after a security breach affected more than 100m accounts.
As well as online gaming and chat services, the phased restoration includes recovery of the Qriocity film and music services which share the Playstation Network’s server. However, users will have to wait to be able to buy video games or other content using credit cards.
Kazuo Hirai, chief of Sony Corp’s PlayStation video game unit, said: "While we understand the importance of getting our services back online, we did not rush to do so at the expense of extensively and aggressively testing our enhanced security measures.
“Our consumers’ safety remains our number one priority. We want to assure our customers that their personal information is being protected with some of the best security technologies available today, so that everyone can feel comfortable enjoying all that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer.”
An investigation into the hacker attack is still ongoing.