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PlayStation Network requirement on PC will now be optional with in-game rewards

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Last updated: 29 Jan 2025 at 4:55 pm UTC

Sony have announced that their PC game releases will no longer force a PlayStation Network Account requirement. Instead it will be optional and give you certain in-game rewards.

As announced in a blog post they said:

Starting with tomorrow’s release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PC, we’re working to add more benefits to playing with an account for PlayStation Network. The Last of Us Part II Remastered (coming April 3, 2025), in addition to God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, will all soon be adding in-game content unlocks for PlayStation Network account users.

An account for PlayStation Network will become optional for these titles on PC. Players who still opt to sign into a PlayStation Network account will also enjoy added benefits like trophies and friend management.

Emphasis ours.


Pictured - Marvel's Spider-Man 2

They've also revealed the first few benefits for signing in:

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Early unlock suits: the Spider-Man 2099 Black Suit and the Miles Morales 2099 Suit
God of War Ragnarok Gain access to the Armor of the Black Bear set for Kratos at the first Lost Items chest in the Realm Between Realms (previously only accessible in a New Game+ run) and a resource bundle (500 Hacksilver and 250 XP)
The Last of Us Part II Remastered +50 points to activate bonus features and unlock extras

Jordan’s Jacket from Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet as a skin for Ellie
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Gain access to Nora Valiant outfit

This is a most unexpected move but an incredibly welcome one. It caused various regions to be unable to even buy some of their PC releases but even worse, requiring an online account for single-player games should never be a thing. Nice to see some sense come back to Sony. Hopefully this will mean the region restrictions on purchases can also be lifted.

Sony have clearly learned some lessons, likely a fair bit from the backlash they had with Helldivers 2 that eventually forced them to drop the requirement.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Misc, Sony, Steam
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ToddL 21 hours ago
Well, this is an interesting decision from Sony and maybe they're starting to see that the mandatory PSN requirement on PC didn't give them the sells numbers that they were hoping for God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered since not every region/countries supported PSN.

At best, they shouldn't have pushed the mandatory PSN requirement on PC in the first place but going forward, they should continue to make it optional in future titles for those that want to use it.


Last edited by ToddL on 29 Jan 2025 at 5:01 pm UTC
kellerkindt 21 hours ago
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  • Supporter Plus
Tbh, this is fine. Good even. If you want to connect your PSN Account, you do you. You even get a little reward, but without being a (too) big loss for people that dont want to.

Now really looking forward to TLoU2 without that silly PSN requirement :)
kuhpunkt 21 hours ago
Yeah, they never should have done this nonsense and kept it the way it was before.

Like the first Spider-Man game had this forever

Link your Steam Account to PlayStation™ Network to receive these early unlock bonuses:

Early access to the Resilient Suit
Early access to the powerful Concussive Blast Gadget
Two Skill Points

Link portal can be found on the Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered game menu.
Linux_Rocks 21 hours ago
Them flip-flopping on this is more annoying than the people overblowing and crying about the former requirement. It's also too bad that even with you logged into your PSN there's no cross-save between PC and PlayStation consoles either.
Pyrate 21 hours ago
Still can't view any of their post-psn games on Steam here. Of course this issue will get 0 attention and it'll probably stay that way. Sucks but hey, you what they say about an unexplored market?


Last edited by Pyrate on 29 Jan 2025 at 5:25 pm UTC
M@GOid 20 hours ago
So, will they unlock previous releases that need the PSN login?
Caldathras 20 hours ago
Guess Sony realized that the policy was costing them profits. Just shows that voting with your money works ...
voytrekk 20 hours ago
Great change from Sony. This is what they really should have done from the start and it wouldn't have caused the controversy that it did. Hopefully this means they will open their games up to other regions as well.
Aeder 20 hours ago
Is Ghost of Tsushima losing the PSN requirements too? Or did it sell too well for them to care?
Purple Library Guy 20 hours ago
Sony? Learning things?!
Ehvis 20 hours ago
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I guess someone crunched the numbers and found that it was taking away too much of the potential market. A reduction of the number of blacklist titles this time.

Is Ghost of Tsushima losing the PSN requirements too? Or did it sell too well for them to care?

Wasn't that one always optional?
Sakuretsu 20 hours ago
Nice but when?
Is it already changed to be optional on the games that are already released or do we still have to wait?
melkemind 19 hours ago
For those asking, it says "Starting with tomorrow's release" of Spider-Man 2, so one can assume that the changes will come into effect for other games at the same time.
Avehicle7887 19 hours ago
So they finally came to their senses.

Maybe this will be enough to have those games released on GOG.
kaiman 19 hours ago
Maybe this will be enough to have those games released on GOG.
Yeah, my thought exactly. Still holding out for Horizon Forbidden West. This news gets my hope up a little.
WYW 19 hours ago
OMG, someone has some common sense. I guess the video game/tech crash is making some suits listen to potential customers for once.
Kimyrielle 18 hours ago
Glad to hear that they came to their senses. I am so tired of every Tom, Dick and Harry trying force an extra account down my throat I neither need nor want.
tarmo888 9 hours ago
Pointless marketing move, they have removed the PSN requirement on some games, but they still restrict the sales to countries where PSN is available.
It shows they have no idea what they are doing, just winging it.
1111xdee 7 hours ago
  • New User
PSN is optional but Sony doesn't sell new games in countries where PSN isn't available. Nice move.
mancuso85 5 hours ago
  • New User
The only time a PSN account should be required is for the store for limited edition physical items, like goodies or Playstation 30years editions.
They don't do it. Scalpers say thank you.
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