Summary
- The PC version of Lost Soul Aside has seemingly removed the controversial PSN account linking requirement ahead of its 2025 launch.
- This change will allow publisher Sony to sell Lost Soul Aside in countries that aren't supported by PSN, significantly boosting the game's 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.
New evidence suggests that Lost Soul Aside, an eagerly awaited game published by Sony, has eliminated the requirement for a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for its PC version. This change means that PC players of Lost Soul Aside won't need to link a PSN account, and it will expand the game's availability to more regions when it launches in 2025.
Lost Soul Aside is a standout from PlayStation's China Hero Project, a program designed to nurture indie game development. This hack and slash action RPG, developed by the Shanghai-based studio UltiZeroGames, draws inspiration from Devil May Cry and emphasizes "dynamic combat." After nearly nine years in development, Sony has funded and will publish Lost Soul Aside for both PS5 and PC. However, Sony's recent policy of mandating PSN account linking for its PC games has faced significant backlash from the gaming community.
Over 100 countries worldwide do not support PSN, which previously limited the sales and reach of PC games requiring a PSN account. Fortunately, Lost Soul Aside will not follow this trend. Following the release of its latest gameplay trailer in December 2024, the game's Steam page initially indicated a PSN account requirement. However, the SteamDB update history reveals that this mandate was removed the very next day.
Lost Soul Aside is the second Sony-published game to drop the PSN account linking rule on PC, following the controversy surrounding Helldivers 2. This development is a welcome relief for PC gamers in regions unsupported by PSN and may signal a shift in Sony's approach to PC gaming requirements. While the reasons for this decision remain unclear, it's speculated that Sony aims to maximize the game's player base. The performance of recent PlayStation titles on PC, such as God of War Ragnarok, has been less than stellar following the implementation of PSN account linking, which may have influenced Sony's decision.
