Summary
WhenGod of War: Ragnarökofficially launches on PC later this year,it will boast a slew of exciting features. Players can take advantage of unlocked framerates, upscaling technology and super ultra-widescreen support. There’s just one catch to it all. Players will need a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to do all of that.
The news comes by way of a sneaky bit of text in the official announcement trailer. That trailer appeared as part of Thursday’s State of Play, and four seconds into the 1:30 trailer, a disclaimer flashed on screen. It read as such:
Captured on PC. Mix of gameplay and in-game cinematics. Account for PlayStation Network required.
Take a look:
That little disclaimeris also present on the official PlayStation Blog postdetailing the release’s features and preorder bonuses. To this point, Sony has not said as to why an account is needed to play the game.
The PC port of Ragnarök will launch on September 19, andit will also include the Valhalla DLCas part of the complete package. Jetpack Interactive, which assisted Santa Monica Studio on the PC port ofthe 2018 God of War title, is once again helping bring the game to PC.
Additionally, there will be a standard and digital deluxe edition for purchase, with a number of bonuses for those who prepurchase. The standard edition will give players two pieces of armor, one for Kratos and one for Atreus. Meanwhile, the digital deluxe edition will provide those bonuses along with two exclusive pieces of armor, weapon skins, a digital soundtrack and a digital artbook.
Requiring a PSN Account Has Been A Major Sticking Point
This wouldn’t be the first time that PlayStation has tried or will require a PSN account to access a PC release. Just recently, there wasan entire fiasco surrounding Helldivers 2 requiring a PSN account post launch. Technically, it was supposed to be a requirement at launch, but server issues prevented it. A few months later, PlayStation tried to reinstate the mandate and were immediately met by backlash,including review bombing the game.
Sonyimmediately changed course and a PSN account is not required to be linked. The rationale for requiring it, according to the Steam page, was because doing so “plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games.”
And just a few weeks back, whenGhost of Tsushimamade its way to PC via Steam, a PSN account was listed as a requirement to access the game’s multiplayer. Sucker Punchassured players that it was only required for the online componentand that players could access the single player mode without one. However,the game was unavailable for purchase in multiple countriesthat do not have PSN.
Ragnarök does not have a multiplayer component, so the requirement for a PSN account is slightly confusing. It seems unlikely that it was a typo either, given that the disclaimer appeared on the announcement video as well as the official blog post. Only time will tell what it means and how it will impact who can access the game.
