LogInInstead, the company will try to incentivize players to create PlayStation Network accounts by offering free in-game items.
Ahead of the imminent PC launch of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, set to hit the shelves in just a few hours, Sony has scored an unexpected win by announcing its plans to remove one of the most frustrating and widely loathed features of their IPs' PC ports – the mandatory PSN requirement – from some of its games, both upcoming and already available.
Insomniac
According to Sony's official statement, the mandatory requirement to have a third-party PlayStation Network account will be removed from the upcoming PC version of The Last of Us Part II, as well as God of War Ragnarök, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 itself.
Instead, there will be an option to sign into a PSN account on PC, with Sony incentivizing players with benefits like trophies and friend management (which doesn’t seem particularly useful on Steam), along with free in-game items. All four games listed above will offer small bonuses, such as cosmetic items and extra XP, to players who choose to link their PSN accounts.
Please note that while most of Sony's PC ports no longer require a PSN account, the company is not abandoning the practice altogether, stating that "game creators at PlayStation Studios will continue to work on bringing more benefits to players who sign up for a PlayStation Network account." As it stands, the PC versions of Until Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut still have PSN listed as mandatory, with no information on whether Sony will make it optional for these titles as well.
Sucker Punch
The news arrives just a day after Sony announced major corporate changes, appointing Hiroki Totoki as the top CEO and Hideaki Nishino as the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, effective April 1, 2025. Whether the upcoming leadership shift is the reason behind the company's change of heart regarding the mandatory PSN requirement remains unknown.
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