Sony Signals Single-Player Only The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PC Requires a PSN Account 3 Months Ahead of Launch
Sony has signalled that The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PC requires a PSN account three months before the game’s release on Steam.
As spotted by VGC, the Steam page for Naughty Dog’s single-player adventure includes the now-standard Sony requirement for a PlayStation Network account.
PC gamers had little hope that Sony would budge on the PSN requirement for its Steam releases, and so it has proved with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. As a result, PC gamers in over 100 countries won’t be able to buy the game on Steam because Sony does not operate PlayStation accounts in those markets.
PSN is available in just 73 countries, leaving many out in the cold. The Baltics, including states that are part of the European Union (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), and the vast majority of countries in Africa are also excluded. For years, some players in these countries have created a PSN in a supported region to get around the restrictions, but there are concerns that Sony could ban the accounts of those who do.
Sony’s PC push has been controversial to say the least, with most of its games suffering negative Steam reviews as a result of the PSN requirement regardless of whether the games themselves are great or run well. In September, God of War Ragnarök met with a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam following its PC launch, with most of the complaints revolving around the PSN requirement.
One disgruntled fan even created a God of War Ragnarök mod that removed the requirement, but it was pulled down out of fear of reprisal from Sony. Exacerbating the backlash is that Sony has doubled down on this policy even for single-player games, such as God of War Ragnarök, Until Dawn, and now The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
Sony’s PSN account requirement for its PC games was thrust into the limelight with the release of Arrowhead’s explosive PC and PS5 co-op shooter Helldivers 2 earlier in 2024. Helldivers 2 suffered a review bomb campaign on Steam after Sony made PSN accounts mandatory for PC
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