Upcoming Sony-Published Game Drops PSN Requirement on PC

Summary

• Lost Soul Aside's PC release will notably forgo the controversial PSN account linking requirement, ahead of its 2025 launch.
• This strategic move significantly expands the game's market reach, enabling Sony to sell Lost Soul Aside in regions unsupported by PSN, thereby boosting sales potential.
• The decision to exclude PSN account linking for Lost Soul Aside on PC suggests a potential shift in Sony's approach to future PlayStation PC releases.

New evidence confirms that the highly anticipated Sony-published title, Lost Soul Aside, will launch on PC without the mandatory PlayStation Network (PSN) account linking requirement. This eliminates a major hurdle for PC players and dramatically increases the game's potential market reach in 2025.

Lost Soul Aside, a standout indie game from PlayStation's China Hero Project, is a hack-and-slash action RPG inspired by Devil May Cry, boasting dynamic combat and nearly nine years of development by Shanghai's UltiZeroGames. Sony, the game's publisher, has mandated PSN account linking for its PC releases in the past, sparking considerable backlash.

This linking requirement previously barred sales in over 100 countries lacking PSN support, severely limiting potential player base and revenue. However, Lost Soul Aside breaks this trend. Following the December 2024 gameplay trailer release and the game's Steam page launch, an initial PSN account requirement was swiftly removed, as documented in SteamDB's update history.

Lost Soul Aside: A Second Sony Title to Drop PSN Account Linking on PC

This welcome news benefits PC gamers in regions without PSN access. It also marks a significant development for PlayStation's PC strategy. Following the controversy surrounding Helldivers 2's PSN linking, Lost Soul Aside's exemption suggests Sony may be adopting a more flexible approach.

While the reasons behind this decision remain unclear, speculation points to Sony's desire to maximize player reach. Previous PlayStation PC titles, hampered by PSN linking, saw reduced player counts compared to their console counterparts—God of War Ragnarök notably underperformed on Steam.