Playing PS4 and PS5 Video Games Online: Why a Connection to PlayStation Network on PC is Necessary

After the space warriors, come the samurai

A few days ago, Sony announced Helldivers 2 to PC players that the latter should soon need a mandatory connection to the PlayStation Network to enjoy the title online. Following this announcement, players massively boycotted the game, notably by bombarding the title and its predecessor with bad reviews. In response, Sony and Arrow Head, the game developer, reversed the statement by nullifying it, agreeing with the community. But just as everything seemed to be getting back on a healthy footing, it was the turn of Ghost of Tsushima, another exclusive, who is about to take a similar path. Originally confined to Sony machines, the title is scheduled to arrive on PC from May 16, and its developer – Sucker Punch – has not failed to promote it.

Discover Ghost if Tsushima Director's Cut on PS5

It was under one of the studio's posts that a user declared having canceled his pre-order in reaction to Sony's policy. In response to this, Sucker Punch clarified to him that even if a PSN account was necessary to play the “Legends” multiplayer mode, the single-player campaign would remain completely accessible without a connection.

PSN required but not available

If the exchange took place less than two days before Sony's withdrawal of the question regarding Helldiverse 2nothing is very clear at the moment regarding Ghost of Tsushima. Fact, we still don't know if it will follow in the footsteps of Arrow Head's game or if Sony will require a connection when the title launches on PC. The controversy surrounding Helldivers stemmed from the fact that the decision was made after the fact, but there is no indication that the samurai game will suffer the same fate.

Although Sony's requirement to have a PSN account does not really impact the majority of European or American players, it is much more damaging for certain regions of the world which cannot create an account for online services. Indeed, whether it is Helldivers 2 or Ghost of Tsushima, the titles are indeed distributed all over the world, the obligation of a PlayStation Netwok account could then only be fulfilled within the 69 countries where the service is currently available. With nearly 195 countries on the planet, the majority of the world could be deprived of the online mode of the samurai game. Without further answers from Sucker Punch and/or Sony at the moment, players are left waiting.