PC owners will no longer need to make PlayStation accounts to access certain games, but Sony hopes some extra bonuses will convince them to sign up anyway.
Sony recently announced a change in leadership, within Sony Interactive Entertainment, with joint CEO Hideaki Nishino now solely in charge of the business, but it’s currently unclear what difference that’s going to make.
However, change is already happening at Sony, especially in terms of its approach to publishing on PC, as detailed in a new pair of PlayStation Blogs.
The first, and certainly most welcome, bit of news is that Sony is ditching the mandatory PlayStation Network accounts for some of its first party games on PC, to coincide with the PC launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
As a reminder, a handful of Sony’s PC ports demand you sign up for a PlayStation Network account before you start playing, even if you don’t own a PlayStation console.
Aside from being an inconvenience, it’s an unpopular practice since the PlayStation Network isn’t available in some countries, so these mandatory accounts were preventing some PC owners from actually playing the games.
Sony once attempted to force accounts onto Helldivers 2 players on PC, but the backlash was so immense it U-turned on the idea almost immediately – which no doubt influenced this new policy change.
That said, Sony clearly wants people to register for PlayStation accounts anyway, since it’s offering special incentives for account holders. For instance, when Spider-Man 2 launches later today, at 4pm GMT, anyone with a PlayStation account can unlock a pair of suits early.
God Of War: Ragnarök and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered will follow suit with cosmetic rewards, as will the PC port of The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered when it launches on April 3.
Free PSN in-game extras for PC titles
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Early unlock suits: the Spider-Man 2099 Black Suit and the Miles Morales 2099 Suit
- God Of War: Ragnarök – Gain access to the Armor of the Black Bear set for Kratos at the first Lost Items chest in the Realm Between Realms (previously only accessible in a New Game+ run) and a resource bundle (500 Hacksilver and 250 XP)
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered – Gain access to Nora Valiant outfit
- The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered – +50 points to activate bonus features and unlock extra and Jordan’s Jacket from Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet as a skin for Ellie
That said, there are still a few games with mandatory PlayStation accounts omitted from the list, specifically the Until Dawn remake, Lego Horizon Adventures, and Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut.
That last one only requires a PlayStation account for its online multiplayer mode, so that will probably be left as is, but it remains to be seen if the other two will have their account requirements revoked as well.
There are a handful of PlayStation games on PC that never required a PlayStation account, such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Days Gone, but it doesn’t seem they’ll offer any bonuses if you do have an account.
Elsewhere, Sony has detailed a big change regarding PlayStation Plus, namely that it will start to phase out PlayStation 4 games starting from January 2026.
‘As we shift to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalogue,’ explains Sony, adding that it ‘may still provide titles that can be playable on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles after this date.’
The blog post is keen to stress that this won’t affect any PlayStation 4 games you’ve redeemed through PlayStation Plus, but you’ll obviously still lose access should your subscription end.
As disappointing as this may be, it was inevitable. We’re roughly five years into the current generation, with the PlayStation 6 possibly only a couple of years away, so Sony is going to want to leave the last generation behind sooner rather than later.
Sony probably would have ditched the PlayStation 4 much sooner had the PlayStation 5 not launched in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, resulting in stock shortages that prevented a lot of people from buying the newer console.
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