At the recent State of Play conference, Sony thrilled fans by announcing that the critically acclaimed action-adventure game, God of War Ragnarök, will be making its long-awaited debut on PC this September. The PC release promises a slew of enhancements, including unlocked framerates, upscaling technology, super ultra-widescreen support, and bundled content such as the Valhalla DLC and New Game+ mode. These features aim to provide an enriched gaming experience, as detailed in Sony’s official blog post.
However, a crucial detail hidden in the fine print could dampen the excitement for many potential players. A footnote reveals that a PlayStation Network (PSN) account will be mandatory to play the game. This requirement is confirmed by both the Steam and Epic Games store pages, which state: “PlayStation Network Account required, subject to the PlayStation Terms of Services and User Agreement,” linking directly to the PSN terms of service.
This stipulation implies significant accessibility issues, as God of War Ragnarök will be unplayable in the 177 countries and territories where PSN access is unavailable. This predicament mirrors the situation faced by Helldivers 2, which was delisted from these regions due to a similar PSN login requirement—a policy Sony eventually reversed. Unfortunately, this precedent did not prevent Ghost of Tsushima from encountering the same issue; its PC version was also delisted in these regions because its co-op multiplayer mode necessitates a PSN sign-in, although its single-player mode does not.
What perplexes many is that God of War Ragnarök, a purely single-player experience, requires a PSN account while Ghost of Tsushima’s single-player mode does not. This inconsistency raises questions about Sony’s policies and their impact on global gamers, potentially limiting the game’s reach and frustrating its dedicated fanbase.
