PlayStation Network Archives

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

Sony quietly removes PC sale restrictions in dozens of countries for four huge PlayStation games

Sony has eased regional restrictions on several popular PC games, including God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2, as of June 13. The changes were noted on SteamDB, showing a reduction in the number of countries where these games are unavailable, with only the Russian Federation added to the list of restricted sales. This decision follows a backlash from a previous incident involving Helldivers 2, which was removed from sale in 177 countries due to a PSN requirement. Additionally, Sony's president, Hideaki Nishino, mentioned that the company is considering adjustments to the pricing of its PlayStation Plus service to maximize profitability through a dynamic pricing strategy.

AppWizard

June 14, 2025

PlayStation Appears To Be Removing Region Restrictions For Its Games On PC

PlayStation is porting its first-party, console-exclusive games to PC, aiming to expand access to these titles. However, the strategy has faced challenges due to the requirement of linking Steam accounts with PlayStation Network accounts, which has restricted access to certain games in over 100 countries without PSN availability. The release of Helldivers 2 highlighted these accessibility issues, but recent reports indicate that PlayStation is lifting regional restrictions for several titles, including God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2. The launch of Days Gone Remastered without regional locks suggests a shift towards a more inclusive approach, potentially ending the era of regional limitations for PlayStation games on PC.

AppWizard

June 13, 2025

I’m glad Sony PlayStation finally got rid of PC game region locks

Sony has begun to reverse its policy of region-locking PC games, allowing titles such as Helldivers 2, God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to be purchased in previously restricted regions. This change follows backlash against the region locks implemented over a year ago, which had led to negative reactions from players. While many restrictions have been lifted, seven countries—Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam—remain blacklisted.

AppWizard

June 13, 2025

Sony removes regional restrictions on four of its biggest games on Steam

Sony has lifted regional restrictions on four major games on Steam, allowing players in various countries to access them freely. The games affected are God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2. Initially, Helldivers 2 required a PlayStation Network (PSN) sign-in, leading to its removal from sale in 177 countries without PSN access. In contrast, the upcoming Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, along with God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, will not require a PSN account, although regional restrictions still apply in countries without PSN services. PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst emphasized the importance of a careful approach to releasing PlayStation games on other platforms and the significance of single-player titles for showcasing console performance.

AppWizard

June 13, 2025

Sony Removes PC Region Locks for Major PlayStation Games on Steam

Sony has lifted regional restrictions on its popular PlayStation titles for PC, allowing access to games like God of War Ragnarök, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and Helldivers 2 in many new countries. This change follows the successful launch of Stellar Blade on Steam, which achieved over 183,000 concurrent players. Previously, Sony had region locks that restricted access to significant portions of Africa, Asia, and South America. Some regions, including Russia and Syria, remain restricted.

AppWizard

May 19, 2025

‘We are doing our best to resolve most of it’: Stellar Blade’s PC release will be restricted in 130 countries as the devs fight to have it lifted

The PC release of Stellar Blade in June is facing region-lock issues affecting players in 130 countries, with six countries—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, and Vietnam—having no price point listed. PlayStation Network (PSN) requirements have been controversial, with developers stating that PSN connection is optional, despite past titles facing restrictions leading to negative reviews. The disparity in game pricing across regions has led to exploitation by key resellers. Shift Up, the developer of Stellar Blade, is actively discussing the region lock issue with the publisher to resolve it.

AppWizard

May 17, 2025

Stellar Blade Devs Address PC Release Controversies

Stellar Blade has become highly popular on the PlayStation 5, topping the PlayStation Store charts and selling out merchandise. The game is set to release on PC on June 11th, following its transition from a former exclusive. The developer, Shift Up, has addressed community concerns regarding region locks, content parity between PC and PlayStation versions, and the necessity of a PlayStation Network account for the PC version. All content, including the Nier: Automata crossover, will be available on PC. The introduction of Denuvo DRM has sparked debate due to potential impacts on frame rates and offline playability, but the development team claims it is optimized to maintain performance. Stellar Blade is available for pre-order on Steam, with the base version priced at .99 and a Complete Edition at .99, which includes additional content.

AppWizard

May 17, 2025

Stellar Blade devs seem as confused as everyone else as the action-RPG’s PC port gets region locked in over 100 countries despite no PSN requirements: “May I ask where you live?”

Stellar Blade will be available on PC without requiring a PlayStation Network (PSN) account, but it is subject to region-locking limitations affecting over 100 countries, making it inaccessible to many potential players. This has led to frustration among users, as demonstrated by a tweet from a disappointed player. Shift Up, the game's developer, is engaging with users on Twitter to understand the situation better. While Sony has moved away from enforcing PSN requirements for its PC games, the region-locking issue persists in several recent releases, including The Last of Us 2 Remastered and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

TrendTechie

April 6, 2025

Overclockers.ru: Порт The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered был слит на торренты менее чем за 24 часа

The Last of Us Part 2 was released on April 3, 2025, and was pirated within 24 hours of its launch, appearing on various torrent sites. Initial player engagement is lower than its predecessor, with a peak concurrent player count of 28,134 compared to 36,496 for the first game. The sequel has better performance than the first installment, which suffered from significant optimization issues, but it still has reports of bugs and graphical artifacts. Digital Foundry's analysis indicates that while the sequel surpasses the original in several areas, it also has abrupt frame rate drops and requires a powerful graphics card, affecting accessibility.

AppWizard

April 1, 2025

The Last of Us Part II Remastered Coming to PC On April 3, 2025

“The Last of Us Part II Remastered” will be released on PC on April 3, 2025, available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. This marks the first time Windows users can access the game, which previously received over 300 Game of the Year awards on PlayStation. The remastered edition includes enhancements such as improved graphics, performance, and new content, including a roguelike mode called “No Return.” Pre-orders are currently available. The PC version will support customizable graphics settings, ultrawide monitor support, and full DualSense controller features. New playable characters Bill and Marlene will be introduced in the “No Return” mode, alongside a Guitar Free Play mode and restored cut content. The game will require a minimum of an Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1300x processor and 16GB RAM.