Category: PlayStation

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.

Sony remains confident in its PlayStation strategy despite speculation surrounding Microsoft’s Xbox potentially exiting the console market. A senior official at Sony, Justin Hill, acknowledged that while there are industry shifts affecting competitors like Xbox, the company sees a healthy level of market rivalry as beneficial for innovation.

Microsoft has argued since 2023 that it has lost the console wars, a stance it adopted to support its case for acquiring Activision Blizzard. This narrative, combined with declining Xbox hardware sales, has led some analysts to suggest that Microsoft might leave the console business.

During a recent discussion, Hill raised concerns about these speculations and their implications for PlayStation. SIE President and CEO Hideaki Nishino emphasized that competition is vital for driving innovation within the gaming industry.

Nishino also pointed out that PlayStation’s competition extends beyond Xbox, indicating that multiple participants contribute to the industry’s dynamics. He acknowledged that new engagement models, such as cloud gaming and multi-platform publishing, are emerging trends that Sony is exploring as well.

Despite these developments, he stated that there is no immediate need for Sony to change its strategy based on what Xbox might do in the future. Insider reports suggest that Microsoft plans at least one more generation of Xbox consoles, regardless of current market challenges.

This next-generation device is expected to bridge the gap between consoles and PCs. Some reports indicate a launch timeframe for Microsoft’s new console in 2028, while Sony is reportedly gearing up for a late 2025 release for the PS6’s chipset.

This could mean the next generation of consoles may arrive as early as late 2027, intensifying the competition in the gaming landscape.