Sony Comments on Steam PlayStation Account Controversy

Sony president and CFO Hiroki Totoki commented on the controversy surrounding the company’s push to require a PlayStation Network account for its PC ports on Steam. This requirement caused a lot of frustration and resentment towards Sony in the Helldivers 2 community earlier this year, and the release of God of War Ragnarok on Steam also raised some pushback from fans wanting to enjoy the title without logging in.

Sony continued its push on PC with various game releases throughout 2024, including a day-and-date launch for Helldivers 2 and ports of God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition. It appears that 2025 will follow a similar release pattern with the launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on Steam in January, and PC gamers have more PlayStation titles to play than ever before. However, the company’s push for PlayStation Network account linking in its PC ports led to some controversy regarding Helldivers 2, with some fans blaming the company’s decision for the game’s decrease in active Steam players over time. Many believe the account link requirement is cumbersome, and the Sony president shared his thoughts on the community’s pushback during the company’s Q&A portion of its latest financial call.

As reported by GamesRadar+, Totoki discussed that Sony has “learned a lot” about the community’s pushback toward the PlayStation Network account requirement and how issues may arise on PC. However, Totoki notes that the requirement “helps maintain order” in live service games and lets PlayStation fans enjoy games in a safe online environment on PC. As a result, Sony will “continue to seek the best way” to promote a safe environment, and the account link requirement will remain a cornerstone for this strategy.

• Sony “learned a lot” about the community’s pushback toward the account link requirement.
• The requirement will continue to exist on PlayStation’s PC ports to maintain order and a safe online environment.

Totoki’s comments make it clear that PlayStation Network accounts will continue to be required in Sony’s upcoming PC ports, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on Steam, regardless of criticism from players. At the very least, PlayStation fans on PC can expect the same in-game features found on the PS5 versions, including full DualSense compatibility and the ability to earn trophies.

During the same Q&A session, Totoki commented on the failure of Concord, stating that the company is still analyzing what went wrong with the new IP from the shuttered Firewalk Studios. The Sony president admitted that Concord did not have enough user testing and other forms of evaluation during development, and the company’s “siloed” organizational structure may have contributed to the game’s failure.

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Brand

Sony PlayStation

Storage

2TB SSD

VR Support

PlayStation VR2

Resolution

Up to 8K

App Store

PlayStation Store

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Ports

Power In, Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, 2x USB Type-A, 2x USB Type-C

HDR Support

Yes

Original Release Date

November 7, 2024

Original MSRP (USD)

$699.99

Dimensions

10.3 x 35.8 cm

Processor

AMD Ryzen Zen 2 (8 cores, 16 threads, 3.5GHz)

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