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There are a couple of moves that PlayStation has made with their PC releases that has drawn the ire of PC gamers. It started with Helldivers 2 and Sony wanting to force a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for their releases, and while they walked that decision back for Helldivers 2, it did still restrict the game from being purchasable in over 170 countries that don't support PSN accounts. Even without the requirement, these countries couldn't purchase the game, which was a bit weird. From there, PlayStation decided to keep these restrictions and force a PSN account for their future releases, but it seems they are not moving forward with it anymore.

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A new blog post on the PlayStation website was posted that amends this decision, walking back the requirement to have a PSN account linked to your game to play it. Instead, linking your account will give you in-game rewards. They specifically mentioned God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which are getting rid of this mandatory linking.

This is a fantastic change, and I applaud PlayStation and Sony for making this decision. While I understand account linking, and we do it already for many different games, it is still quite obnoxious. I also disagree with the decision due to all the countries that ar now restricted from purchasing the game. There is no word on whether these countries will be able to purchase these games again, though my gut says probably not, seeing as PlayStation didn't correct it for Helldivers 2.

So far, this requirement didn't really affect being able to play any of PlayStation's games on the Steam Deck, apart from Ghost of Tsushima's multiplayer mode, but it's still really nice to see.

This is also the first time I have seen PlayStation mention Marvel's Spider-Man 2 ahead of its release tomorrow. They have been very quiet about the release, and it's odd that they mentioned pre-purchase rewards when there's no pre-purchase option. Either way, I am excited about the release tomorrow and can't wait to see Nixxes Software's latest port.

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Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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