Ghost of Tsushima PC Won’t Require PSN Account for Single-Player

We’re just a couple of days away from Ghost of Tsushima’s PC release date, as the former PlayStation exclusive prepares to drop its Director's Cut - including its expansion and multiplayer DLC - on Steam. Having recently cleared up the question around whether you’ll need to sign in with a PSN account after the Helldivers 2 debacle - yes, if you want to play the co-op mode - developers Nixxes and Sucker Punch have now revealed that the login requirement will mean multiplayer won’t work on Steam Deck.

A new Helldivers 2 patch is here and will hopefully put the whole PlayStation Network account linking debacle to bed once and for all, as it's now been added as an explicitly "optional" setting.

Sigh… here we go again. We just got through a major brouhaha involving Sony requiring PSN linking for Helldivers 2 after initially not asking for it at launch, which led to a major backlash and review bombing campaign and, eventually, Sony reversing course. While some would say the reaction was rather overblown, one of the issues was that a number of countries in the world simply don’t have access to PSN, which led to Helldivers 2 being delisted in those regions (in fact, even Sony’s after reversal on the issue, they’re still delisted).

Being a Helldivers 2 fan has been an absolute rollercoaster over this past weekend, with the game being the most loved live service game out there, to the most hated, and back again over the course of just a few days. Most of you will know that this was down to Sony's sudden implementation of its PSN account system, requiring Helldivers 2 players on Steam to sign up for the PlayStation Network if they want to continue playing.

Helldivers 2 has been a huge hit this yea,r with a consistent player base since its launch in February and a peak of over 450,000 players. Fighting for Super Earth, players have been waging war against monstrous insects and deadly robots and laying down their lives for democracy. But the game’s reputation took a hit recently when it was announced that PC players would have to register for a PlayStation Network account to continue playing the game — a move that would have left players in parts of the world with no PSN support high and dry.

After several days of player outcry, pushback, and extensive review bombing, Sony has backed down from its demand that Helldivers 2 players be required to link a PSN account on PC if they wanted to continue playing. 

The long awaited Ghost of Tsushima PC port arrives later this month on May 16 and following the recent kerfuffle over Helldivers 2 and its PSN account link requirement on PC, players have been wondering if Ghost of Tsushima will require the same. Well, there’s good news and bad news.

It’s been a tumultuous few days for Helldivers 2, as one of this year’s most beloved runaway hits managed to seemingly undo all of its goodwill and earn the ire of thousands of players in the blink of an eye.

After the backlash and subsequent U-turn on Helldivers 2 requiring players to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account, the next PlayStation flagship headed to PC has sought to reassure players that you won’t need a PSN account to play its single-player campaign. Multiplayer’s a different case, though.

In response to the recent negativity surrounding Helldivers 2 and PlayStation Network account requirements, Sucker Punch issued a statement in an attempt to clarify its use in the upcoming PC version of Ghost of Tsushima. It's been a rough few days for Arrowhead Game Studios, who took the brunt of the controversy surrounding a recent announcement that would require Helldivers 2 players to link to a PSN account. The backlash was so severe that Helldivers 2 was actively review bombed on Steam, the refund policy was changed, and ultimately, Sony issued a statement abandoning its PSN plans.

Sony has reversed a decision that would have required Helldivers 2 players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network accounts.

After creating a massive kerfuffle by forcing Helldivers 2 PC players to link their Steam accounts to the PlayStation Network, Sony is backing down. The May 6 update will no longer be released and, presumably, the game won't be removed from sale on Steam in 177 countries and territories as reported yesterday.