Helldivers 2 PC Escapes PSN Account Requirement, but Ghost of Tsushima Multiplayer Does Not

Following Sony’s U-turn on Helldivers 2 PC account linking with PSN, the developer of Ghost of Tsushima has clarified how the upcoming PC version will work with Sony’s systems.

Amid the backlash to Sony’s announcement that Helldivers 2 on PC would force Steam players to link their account to a PlayStation Network account to continue playing, Ghost of Tsushima developer Sucker Punch has told players that parts of the game on PC will require a PSN to play, while other parts won’t.

In a series of tweets, Sucker Punch made it clear that a PSN account is required for Legends online multiplayer mode and to use the PlayStation overlay. It is not required to play the single-player portion of Ghost of Tsushima.

A PSN account is only 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 6, 2024

The PC version of Ghost of Tsushima, due out May 16, is the Director’s Cut, and includes the Legends co-op multiplayer experience, complete with cross-play between Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 alongside in-game voice chat. It is also the first PlayStation PC port from PlayStation Studios to use the new PlayStation Overlay. This UI, which you can see in the image below, lets users access their PlayStation profile, including their Friends List and Trophies.

When Sony announced its controversial decision to re-enable PSN account linking with Helldivers 2 on Steam, it said it did so for players’ safety and security. “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,” Sony said in its statement. “This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.”

Sony went on to make an exception for Helldivers 2, but it seems the company’s other first-party titles won’t be so lucky. The difference here, of course, is that Sucker Punch and Sony have made the situation for Ghost of Tsushima clear ahead of release, so prospective customers can made a purchasing decision they won’t regret later. Much of the backlash to the Helldivers 2 move had to do with players being unaware they were already playing the game PSN-free as part of a poorly-communicated “grace period”, and that some players were faced with losing access to the game they’d already paid for because Sony was forcing PSN account linking in countries in which PSN was not supported.

On that note, Sony now faces tough questions around the regions in which it plans to sell the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima. If the game goes on sale on Steam in a country in which PSN is not supported (and there are many of these), will players in those countries face being locked out of portions of the game that require account linking? Are they being made aware they may miss out on Legends mode, for example?

IGN's Ghost of Tushima review returned a 9/10. We said: "Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent action game and its open world is one of the most gorgeous yet."

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley [email protected]?or confidentially [email protected].