Sony’s PC gaming woes aren’t over yet. Following a controversy that saw the PC port of the popular Sony-published Helldivers 2 game taken off Steam in over 170 countries, single-player samurai game Ghost of Tsushima is being hit with the same change, forcing players to log in to their PlayStation Network accounts to access the game—even if they aren’t playing on a PlayStation console.
Even as Sony has backpedaled slightly on its Helldivers 2 stance, the studio seems adamant on restricting PC purchases to countries where its PSN service operates.
The problems started earlier this month, when Sony announced it would soon be mandatory for Helldivers 2 players on PC to link their game to a PSN (PlayStation Network) account. Though PSN accounts are free to set up, this caused the game to be taken down in over 150 countries, including the majority of Africa, as PSN does not operate in those regions.
Sony eventually walked back the decision to enforce the previously optional PSN linking, but Helldivers 2 is still not available for purchase in the countries where it was taken down, only netting a partial win for disgruntled players: Those who already purchased the game in those regions are still able to play, but new players are now barred from joining.
This move left Sony’s PC releases in a nebulous state, with everyone unsure what would happen next. Sony’s answer? Take a popular, primarily single-player game, one where online integration is left to a side mode, and block purchases in the same countries as Helldivers 2.
According to SteamDB (which acquires its information via the Steam API), the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima, set to launch on PC on May 16, will not be available in countries including Belize, Jamaica, and Bangladesh. Japan was also originally on this list, which is odd given that it is Sony’s home country, as well as the setting of Ghost of Tsushima.
Japan was later removed from the blocklist, even as Sony has added additional countries, including those in the Baltics.
Ghost of Tsushima is a special case, in that Sony had previously said that PSN integration would only be required for the game’s optional multiplayer side mode, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. Despite this, the game as a whole remains unavailable for purchase in affected regions, even though PSN offers no connectivity benefit for its majority single-player content.
Valve is now offering refunds for those in affected regions who had pre-purchased the game. It is unclear whether Sony will continue on this path with other single-player PC ports like Spider-Man Remastered and The Last of Us Part 1.