Ghost of Tsushima’s PSN login requirement will prevent you from playing multiplayer on Steam Deck

We’re just days away from Ghost of Tsushima’s PC release date, as the former PlayStation exclusive prepares to release its Director’s Cut – including its expansion and multiplayer DLC – on Steam. Having recently clarified whether you’ll need to sign in with a PSN account after the Helldivers 2 debacle – yes, if you want to play co-op – developers Nixxes and Sucker Punch have now revealed that the sign-in requirements mean that multiplayer will not work on Steam Deck.

The developers confirmed last week that we won’t need to create or log in with a PlayStation Network account to play Ghost of Tsushima’s single-player campaign or the Iki Island expansion, apparently seeking to ease the risk of ‘a similar backlash to that experienced by Arrowhead after announcing a mandatory PSN login for Helldivers 2 (which was later scrapped – and then turned into an ironic cape – due to the veritable firestorm of complaints).

A connection will, however, be required for the Legends co-op mode, which was originally released as free DLC for the PlayStation 4 game: and therein lies the problem. While Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut will technically be supported by Steam Deck – at least if you want to play the main game in bed/on the bus/on the toilet – its developers have confirmed that it will show up as “Unsupported” . on Steam due to multiplayer not being able to work due to PSN integration.

“You may notice that Steam marks the game as “Unsupported” for Steam Deck. This is because Legends’ cooperative multiplayer mode requires Windows to access built-in PlayStation Network features,” Nixxes and Sucker Punch explained in a blog post announcing the game’s preload going live.

It’s hard to imagine that many people would consider a portable handheld to be the best way to play online multiplayer, but it’s still frustrating to see the restriction – especially since the PSN login requirement much deplored seems to be directly to blame. .

This is despite the fact that one of the arguably positive features of the PSN Connection – cross-play between PlayStation and PC users – is only available in “beta” form at launch, with the developers claiming that it will be functional but will not match automatically. users on different platforms to start. You’ll need to invite your friends to get the most out of it – which is probably the best way to play Legends, but it’s not ideal if you’re flying solo and looking to get into a game as quickly as possible.

It’s worth mentioning that this all comes on the heels of the announcement that the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima will not be sold on Steam in nearly 180 countries, including Japan, the very country in which the game takes place – due to PSN login requirement for Legends. (Helldivers 2 has also been removed from sale in dozens of countries, including those where PSN accounts can’t even be created.)

You know, I’m really starting to wonder if forcing a separate connection for the PlayStation Network on top of these games is all it’s cracked up to be.