The Helldivers 2 PSN debacle may be over, but a similar requirement is restricting access to the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima in over 170 regions.
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is set to release on PC next week, on May 16, though the open-world samurai game has been removed from Steam in nearly 180 countries around the world because the game’s online co-op mode requires players to bond with an active character. PlayStation Network account, which is impossible in many countries due to lack of access to PSN.
SteamDB It appears that “Restricted Countries for Purchases” were added to Ghost of Tsushima listings earlier this week, with several affected players reporting that Steam automatically refunded their purchase of the game.
Developer Sucker Punch previously tried to clarify plans for account linking, explaining that “a PSN account is required for online multiplayer in Legends and to use the PlayStation overlay.” A PSN account is not required to be linked to go to the single-player portion of the game, as is the case with other PC ports published on PlayStation.
When Helldivers 2 announced that a PSN account would be mandatory months after launch, angry players protested with more than 200,000 negative reviews on the game’s storefront page. The complaints arose from concerns about data collection, an unclear “grace period”, and the fact that the game was pulled from more than 170 countries where it was previously available. Sony eventually relented and revoked the authorization.
The publisher seems to be doing a better job of communicating Ghost of Tsushima’s requirements, but excluding international players to boost PSN account numbers is still not ideal. Sony’s efforts on PC may continue with an “imminent” announcement of a God of War: Ragnarok port, so we’ll see what the future looks like in terms of its cross-platform push.
Helldivers 2 has just been pulled from Steam in three other countries without access to PSN.
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