Sony has finally removed the steam area locks on several PlayStation PC ports. These restrictions on dozens of countries and territories have proven to be seriously controversial when they are applied Helldivers 2 After it was launched last year, they affected several other PC ports. But now, these regional restrictions have quietly disappeared from the steam, perhaps as a result of Stellar Blade’s recent success on the platform.
Even if you’re not playing Helldivers 2, you’ve heard of the uproar surrounding multiplayer games. Over the past few years, Sony has tried to force players to create or sign in with their PlayStation Network account on Steam to access the PC port. This requirement not only made the players a bit confused and disgusting, but also meant that the game was no longer available on more than 100 territories due to its lack of support for PSN.
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Helldivers 2 saw a strong view of the bombed reviews for this, and Sony ultimately returned this mandatory requirement, but that didn’t stop the game from being accessible at many destinations. PSN integration has also been added to other titles, including single-player games, with varying degrees of controversy.
In these other cases it didn’t necessarily mean that you needed a PSN account to play the game. It may have been required only for multiplayer elements, but as a potential requirement, the game in question was not available on unsupported territory.
Now, as Wario64 discovered, Sony appears to be releasing some of its largest steam exports from the margins with regional restrictions. Helldivers 2 is the most notable game for its history on this subject, but the last We Part 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man2 have been removed from the “restricted” list.
The same regional restrictions were applied to Action Slash M Up Stellar Blade, to the surprise of the game’s developers, when the steam release date was first revealed. However, these restrictions were removed before launch, and the Star Blade became Sony’s biggest single-player port.
Given that this success was achieved without the need for a PlayStation Network account and associated regional locking, it is not stretch to imagine it affecting Sony’s decision to unleash other steam ports.
It’s also some kind of mistake or glitch, and while the restrictions could be reimposed later, your fingers could be crossed. If intentional, it’s a victory for Sony, but it took a long time and a lot of frustration to achieve it. Sony has not yet publicly commented on the removal.
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