Steam users from various countries can now access and purchase several popular PlayStation titles without restrictions. This decision follows significant backlash from the gaming community. Notable titles such as Helldivers 2, God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have returned to Steam, allowing fans to engage with them once again. The situation began over a year ago when Helldivers 2 was removed from Steam in 177 countries after its global launch.
The delisting occurred because PlayStation required players to link their PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts to Steam, a service not available in every market that Steam supports. This requirement drew severe criticism from players, leading to negative reviews for several PlayStation games. Consequently, the backlash prompted PlayStation and Arrowhead Game Studios to eliminate the PSN linking necessity for Helldivers 2. Additionally, while The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered originally mandated a PSN account for its multiplayer features on Steam, Sony has since made this requirement optional.
Sony executives have commented on the decision to expand its game availability on other platforms, something many fans have eagerly awaited. As of June 13, restrictions on purchasing Helldivers 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarok, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on Steam were lifted, enabling players from previously restricted regions, including Venezuela, Haiti, and Serbia, to access these games without issues. Despite this change, PSN remains unavailable in some regions, although linking PSN and Steam accounts still offers certain advantages. Not all titles have adopted the new policy—Ghost of Tsushima continues to require PSN for its multiplayer features and PlayStation overlay.
This shift in regional policy coincided with a surge in success for PlayStation titles on Steam, particularly evident following the release of Stellar Blade, which attracted over 100,000 concurrent players within its first day. As PlayStation evaluates its approach to live-service titles, it will be interesting to observe how this policy change impacts the sales and player engagement for its games on Steam.