Lost Soul Aside ditches PSN account linking for PC release
Lost Soul Aside, a Sony-published action RPG slated for a 2025 PC release, has reportedly dropped its controversial PlayStation Network (PSN) account linking requirement. This significant change expands the game's market reach, allowing Sony to sell the title in over 100 countries previously inaccessible due to PSN limitations.
This decision marks a potential shift in Sony's strategy for PlayStation PC ports. The initial mandate for PSN account linking on PC, implemented last year, faced considerable player backlash. Lost Soul Aside, a highly anticipated title from the China Hero Project, now stands as a notable exception, following a similar reversal for Helldivers 2.
Initially, Lost Soul Aside's Steam page listed PSN linking as a requirement. However, this was swiftly removed within 24 hours of the December 2024 gameplay trailer's release, as evidenced by SteamDB update history.
This development is welcome news for PC gamers in regions without PSN support. The lack of PSN linking for Lost Soul Aside, coupled with the Helldivers 2 precedent, suggests Sony may be reassessing its rigid approach to account linking for its PC releases. The underperformance of God of War Ragnarok on PC, achieving less than half the player count of its predecessor, may have influenced this decision. While the exact reasons remain undisclosed, maximizing player reach is a likely factor in Sony's choice to allow Lost Soul Aside's PC version to bypass the PSN requirement.