Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima will be released on Steam in just under two weeks on May 16, and developer Sucker Punch does not want to find themselves in a Helldivers 2 situation. As such, they are talking about which parts of the game do or do not need a PSN link ahead of time, so no one is surprised.
Here’s what they said in response to someone saying they were cancelling a Tsushima pre-order based on Sony’s recent demand about Helldivers 2 requiring PC linking (which has now been reversed).
“Thank you for your feedback. Just so you are aware, A PSN account is required for Legends online multiplayer mode and to use PlayStation overlay. It is not required to play the singleplayer game.”
This continues Sony’s apparent idea that multiplayer games or modes on PC will require linking to a PSN account while single player games will not. Sony has said this is about curbing cheating in these multiplayer games, and other publishes like EA, Ubisoft and Microsoft do something similar (even for single player games in many cases).
However, there remain a few open questions about this whole situation. If Helldivers 2 has had the requirement removed, apparently permanently, does that mean Sony is forgoing the PSN requirement for other multiplayer games? That seems unlikely, but we don’t know for sure yet.
Second, Sony still does not seem to have a solution for the 177 regions that are not able to make PSN accounts at all. Before they reversed the Helldivers decision, Sony removed the game for sale from all those regions and nothing was announced about how or if they’d be able to play in the future (even for those who had already bought the game). Just because the PSN requirement is happening right at Tsushima’s launch, that doesn’t erase that question.
Ghost of Tsushima
Sony is increasingly investing in PC gaming, both in terms of porting its single player games there, but also launching a slew of multiplayer titles they’re hoping can even be a fraction as successful as Helldivers 2. But in the process they don’t seem to have fully considered all the angles of this in regard to their desire to get Steam players to make PSN accounts, and what that means for the regions that are left out.
My guess is the PSN requirement stays, and unlike Helldivers, it will be enforced from day one from here, including for Ghost of Tsushima. But as for those 177 regions, there’s simply no coherent answer yet, and that’s something Sony needs to produce soon.
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