Sony Appears to Ditch Steam Region Locks for Hits Like Helldivers 2 Following Stellar Blade Success
Sony is seemingly withdrawing the region restrictions from the Steam versions of its popular PlayStation titles, including Helldivers 2, The Last of Us Part 2, and others, possibly due to the exceptional performance of Stellar Blade on the platform.
These constraints, initially set on numerous countries, stirred significant controversy, especially when Helldivers 2 launched with them last year. Similar restrictions affected other PlayStation PC ports, such as God of War Ragnarok. Recently, these geographical barriers have been vanishing from Steam, potentially influenced by the success that Stellar Blade achieved without them.
For those unfamiliar with the turmoil around Helldivers 2, Sony’s past strategy involved obligating users to log in with a PlayStation Network account to access PC ports on Steam. This move baffled and disappointed many players because the requirement rendered the game unavailable in more than 100 territories lacking PSN support.
The uproar and review bombing that followed pushed Sony to repeal the mandatory PSN login, though it did little to improve the game’s availability in some regions. This PSN integration didn’t end with multiplayer-focused titles; single-player games received similar treatments, generating varied player reactions. While not all instances demanded a constant PSN sign-in for gameplay, the prospect contributed to the games’ inaccessibility in various unsupported areas.
Finally, Sony seems to be liberating pivotal Steam ports from these regional restrictions. The most noteworthy change involves Helldivers 2, given its history with these issues. Concurrently, other prominent titles including The Last of Us Part 2, God of War Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have seen their restricted region lists rescinded.
Initially, the action game Stellar Blade was subject to similar region limitations upon its Steam release announcement, much to the surprise of its developer. However, these were lifted shortly before its release, leading to Stellar Blade becoming Sony’s top-performing single-player port. Achieving success without a PlayStation Network account requirement suggests that it may have steered Sony to remove these constraints on its other Steam offerings.
There remains a possibility that this unrestriction is a temporary oversight or a technical glitch, with the potential for these limitations to be re-enforced later. Nonetheless, if deliberate, this move marks a meaningful victory for Sony, albeit one long sought with considerable player discontent. Official statements from Sony regarding this change are still awaited.
