The upcoming PC port of Ghost Of Tsushima has been removed from digital retailers in nearly 200 countries.
The territories affected aren’t serviced by Sony’s PlayStation Network, with players needing to link to a PSN account to play the PC version Ghost Of Tsushima when it launches later this week, even if they only want to play the single-player portion of the title.
Previous Sony ports like God Of War and Horizon Zero Dawn were available to play without a PSN account (via PC Gamer) and earlier this month, Sucker Punch confirmed “a PSN account is required for Legends online multiplayer mode and to use PlayStation overlay. It is not required to play the singleplayer game.”
Thank you for your feedback.
Just so you are aware, A PSN account is required for Legends online multiplayer mode and to use PlayStation overlay. It is not required to play the singleplayer game.
— Sucker Punch Productions (@SuckerPunchProd) May 3, 2024
That has seemingly changed over the past week though with platforms like Steam refunding all pre-orders for Ghost Of Tsushima in the 177 affected territories, while the game has also been removed from a number of digital storefronts.
🚨Breaking Ghost of Tsushima has been Officially delisted on Steam in regions where PSN is blocked pic.twitter.com/cJ91Lbnhhg
— PC_Nation (@PC_Nation__) May 10, 2024
“Due to an issue beyond our control, the multiplayer modes in Ghost Of Tsushima: Directors Cut will no longer be available to play without linking a PSN account, and unfortunately your region is restricted from creating a PSN account,” said a statement from one retailer.
“As a result, we have removed the product from our store in your region and we will be refunding in full all customers who pre-purchased the game from countries unable to create PSN accounts.”
BREAKING🚨
Ghosts of Tsushima is no longer available in countries without PSN and is being removed from stores in those regions, even if you just want to play singleplayer. pic.twitter.com/YagEJ2ggij
— PC_Nation (@PC_Nation__) May 9, 2024
The PC launch of Ghost Of Tsushima was announced earlier this year, and is the first Sucker Punch game to get a PC version.
It comes after Sony tried to force Helldivers 2 players to link their Steam accounts to a PSN account in order to continue playing the game, months after launch. “Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games,” said Sony at the time, but the decision was reversed following backlash.
However, Helldivers 2 is still unable to be purchased in territories that aren’t serviced by the PlayStation Network.
In other news, Square Enix has announced a new medium-term business plan which will include an “aggressive” pivot towards multiplatform releases.