Upcoming Sony-Published Game Drops PSN Requirement on PC

Summary

• Lost Soul Aside's PC version has seemingly removed the controversial PSN account linking requirement ahead of its 2025 launch.
• This will allow publisher Sony to sell Lost Soul Aside in countries that aren't supported by PSN, boosting the game's overall reach and sales potential.
• Sony's decision to drop the PSN account linking rule for Lost Soul Aside may hint at a more flexible approach for PlayStation's PC games going forward.

Exciting news for fans of Lost Soul Aside: it appears that the upcoming Sony-published game has eliminated the need for a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for its PC version. This significant change means that players on PC won't have to link a PSN account, and it opens up the game to a broader range of regions when it launches in 2025.

Lost Soul Aside is a much-anticipated indie title from PlayStation's China Hero Project, a program that nurtures promising game development. Crafted by the Shanghai-based studio UltiZeroGames, this hack and slash action RPG draws inspiration from classics like Devil May Cry and emphasizes dynamic combat. After nearly nine years in development, Sony, the game's financier and publisher, is set to release Lost Soul Aside on both PS5 and PC. However, last year's introduction of mandatory PSN account linking for PlayStation games on PC stirred significant controversy among the gaming community.

With over 100 countries worldwide not supported by PSN, games requiring such linking face restricted market access, which can hamper sales and player reach. Yet, Lost Soul Aside seems to be breaking from this trend. Following its latest gameplay trailer in December 2024, the game's Steam page was updated. Initially, it stated a PSN account was needed, but according to SteamDB's update history, this requirement was swiftly removed the very next day.

Lost Soul Aside marks the second Sony-published game to bypass the PSN account linking rule on PC, following the controversy surrounding Helldivers 2. This development is a welcome relief for PC gamers eager to play Lost Soul Aside in regions where PSN isn't available. It also signals that Sony might be adopting a more lenient stance on PSN account linking for their PC titles.

While the exact reasons behind Sony's decision remain undisclosed, speculation points toward a desire to maximize the game's player base. After the introduction of PSN account linking, PlayStation games on PC, such as God of War Ragnarok, experienced less success compared to their predecessors, with significantly lower player counts on Steam.