It
seems
like
Sony’s
controversial
decision
to
enforce
PSN
account
linking
in
Helldivers
2
and
its
subsequent
backtracking
of
that
decision
has
created
a
ripple
effect.
Those
ripples
of
reached
the
upcoming
Ghost
of
Tsushima
Director’s
Edition
which
is
due
to
launch
on
Steam
on
May
16,
20204.

Unless
you’ve
been
living
under
a
stone,
you
probably
know
that

Sony
made
the
decision
to
re-active
the
mandatory
PSN
account
linking
for
Helldivers
2
that
was
technically
part
of
the
game
since
day
1
but
hadn’t
been
enforced.
A
major
part
of
the
controversy
was
that
the
PlayStation
network
is
not
actually
accessible
in
the
majority
of
the
world,
and
yet
Helldivers
2
was
being
sold
in
those
areas.
In
other
words,
people
who
had
bought
the
game
and
been
playing
without
issue
for
weeks
would
be
left
unable
to
create
a
PSN
account
and
thus
locked
out.

During
the
debacle,
Helldivers
2
was
pulled
from
177
regions
where
PSN
was
not
available
on
Steam.
Valve,
who
own
and
operate
the
Steam
platform,
began
to
hand
out
refunds
to
anyone
who
be
effected
by
Sony’s
decision.

Despite
doing
a
u-turn
on
the
decision,
Helldivers
2
has
not
be
put
back
up
for
sale
in
those
regions.

While
all
of
this
was
happening,
the
developers
of

Ghost
of
Tsushima
took
to
X
to
clarify
the
need
for
a
PSN
account
with
their
own
game.
Ghost
of
Tsushima’s
PC
edition
is,
of
course,

bringing
with
it
a
brand
new
PlayStation
overlay
along
with
support
for
PlayStation
Trophies
on
PC.

They
stated
on
X
that
the
singleplayer
portion
of
the
game
would
not
require
a
PSN
account
to
be
made.
The
online
portion
titled
Legends
however,
does
need
a
PSN
account.

SteamDB,
a
website
which
tracks
a
variety
of
Steam
data
such
as
player
numbers
and
updates,
noted
that
Ghost
of
Tsushima
has
been
updated
with
the
same
purchase
restrictions
as
Helldivers
2
–
all
regions
where
PSN
is
unavailable.

Helldivers
2
purchase
restrictions
were
updated
to
add
Baltics.

Furthermore,
Ghost
of
Tsushima
now
has
the
same
purchase
restrictions.

pic.twitter.com/TbXjHzCfwb

—
SteamDB
(@SteamDB)

May
10,
2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Following
the
change,
people
in
those
regions
who
had
pre-ordered
the
game
began
receiving
Emails
from
Steam
informing
them
that
their
purchase
had
been
cancelled
and
a
refund
issued.
Why?
Because
“The
publisher
of
this
game
is
now
requiring
a
secondary
account
to
play
portions
of
this
game
–
and
this
account
cannot
be
created
from
your
country.
Cheers,
The
Steam
Team.”

Based
on
the
wording
of
the
message,
this
decision
seems
to
be
coming
directly
from
Valve.

This
is
likely
Valve
seeking
to
protect
themselves
from
any
legal
problems
that
would
arise
from
customers
who
have
already
pre-ordered
the
game
only
to
discover
Sony
has
removed
it
from
sale
in
their
region
and
that
they
cannot
create
the
required
account.

However,
it
also
presents
a
problem:
a
PSN
account
is
only
needed
for
the
multiplayer
portion
of
the
game.
Anyone
wanting
to
play
the
singleplayer
can
do
so
without
a
PSN
account.
Except
now,
they
can’t
because
they’ve
been
locked
out
of
buying
it
in
their
region.

It’s
a
frankly
embarrassing
situation
for
Sony,
one
created
by
their
own
stupidity
at
selling
Helldivers
2
in
countries
that
can’t
set
up
a
PSN
account,
and
now
that
stupidity
is
effecting
Ghost
of
Tsushima
as
well.

People
are
also
reporting
the
situation
is
the
same
on
Epic
where
the
game
is
also
available
for
pre-order
ahead
of
its
May
16
release.

Sony
needs
to
get
this
handled
quickly,
or
else
might
find
Ghost
of
Tsushima
being
review
bombed
too
as
a
way
for
the
community
to
voice
their
displeasure
at
the
situation.