The dust hasn’t even settled on the Hellpers 2 debacle, which saw Sony change course on its widely criticized PSN requirement for gaming, and the PS5 maker is already in trouble once again. Steam, Epic and Green Man Gaming are reportedly canceling and automatically refunding pre-orders for the PC version of Sony’s Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, launching on May 16, for buyers living in more than 170 countries without access to PSN. Eurogamer Reports.
This is particularly a surprise given the disclaimer the game’s developer made last week after Hellpers 2 was abruptly removed from Steam in 177 countries where the PlayStation Network is not available. Ghost of Tsushima only requires linking a PSN account for its Legends multiplayer mode; “You don’t need to play the single-player game,” Sucker Punch Productions tried their bestsay in a recent X post. Online stores like Steam, Green Man Gaming, and Epic Games Store had similar disclaimers.
With that in mind, you’d think that players who didn’t care about the multiplayer modes and just wanted to experience the single-player campaign (i.e. most of the game) would still be able to play. But in reality, that is not the case. Over the weekend, Steam removed Ghost of Tsushima in the same 177 countries where players cannot legally sign up for PSN. Those who had already pre-ordered Ghost of Tsushima for PC began receiving automatic refunds.
By The edgeThe Steam team sends the following message to players who receive a refund: “You are receiving a refund for a game you purchased in advance: Ghost of Tsushima. The publisher of this game now requires a secondary account to play parts of this. game, and this account cannot be created from your country.
There’s been no official word from Sony, Steam, or Sucker Punch about automatic refunds, but the game subreddit is inundated with complaints from players who pre-ordered the game only to discover their order was cancelled. It’s unclear if stores are delisting the game and issuing refunds on their own or if Sony is instructing them to do so.
Sony’s launch of mandatory PSN tethering has been nothing short of disastrous. But this case seems significantly simpler than what happened with Hellpers 2, and underlines Sony’s growing headaches as it moves to port more titles to PC.
One aspect that Sony didn’t seem to anticipate is that Steam, and by extension Hellpers 2 for PC, would be available in more countries than PSN. So Sony’s mandate to link to a PSN account, which came to light three months after the game’s release, meant that players in non-PSN-supported regions could be locked out of a game they had paid for and been playing. After widespread backlash and a barrage of reviews, Sony reversed the change. Despite that, Hellpers 2 remains banned from Steam in 177 countries where players cannot legally register on PSN.
Sony’s previous PC ports, such as God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn, were single-player only, so there was no need to link a PSN account. Since Ghost of Tsushima has a multiplayer mode, Sony is likely trying to get ahead of the issue before we see a repeat of what happened with Hellpers 2. At the same time, Sony announced the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima in March. It is undoubtedly frustrating for players to learn that a game they have pre-ordered for months is no longer available in their country for reasons beyond their control. And a week after its launch, no less.
- Hellpers 2 will no longer require PSN on PC as Sony changes its mind
- Apple’s first foldable device will launch next year, and it’s a massive 20.3-inch hybrid.
- New Android Security Flaw Lets Hackers Take Control of Apps: How to Stay Safe
