Sony's PSN Demand Causes Ghost of Tsushima's Removal from Steam in Over 170 Countries

The highly anticipated PC port of "Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut" faces a significant hurdle as it prepares to launch tomorrow, May 16. In a move reminiscent of the recent "Helldivers 2" controversy, the open-world samurai game has been pulled from Steam in almost 180 countries. This limitation stems from the requirement for players to link their game to an active PSN account to access the online co-op mode, "Legends," a feature unavailable in many countries due to the absence of PSN support.

Steam Refunds and Developer Clarifications

The restriction was updated on SteamDB earlier this week, leading to a swift response from Steam, automatically refunding purchases for many affected players. Sucker Punch, the game's developer, has attempted to mitigate concerns by explaining that while the multiplayer mode requires a PSN account, the single-player experience remains accessible without such linkage, aligning with other PlayStation-published PC ports.

Sony's Strategy and Community Reaction 

This issue echoes Sony's backlash with "Helldivers 2," where a sudden requirement for a PSN account post-launch sparked outrage, resulting in over 200,000 negative reviews and widespread protests over data privacy concerns and lack of clear communication. Although Sony retracted the PSN account mandate for "Helldivers 2" following the uproar, the continued strategy to use major titles to promote PSN account creation remains contentious. With rumors of an "imminent" port of "God of War: Ragnarok," the gaming community is watching closely to see if Sony will adjust its approach in response to player feedback and the challenges faced during these multiplatform expansions.