This week, Sony has made it apparent that The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC release in April will require an active PSN account to play on Steam.
It seems Sony is still sticking to the PSN requirement for all first-party titles still. The Last of US Part 2 Remastered has been listed on Steam ahead of its April 2025 PC release (fans can even wish list the title now), and VGC spotted the requirement on the Steam page listing for the Naughty Dog sequel. The requirement has proven to be a detriment in the past for Sony, considering gamers in over 100 countries do not have access to PSN account creation stopping those countries from being ‘allowed’ to buy the new release.
Sony made this same choice last year after the massive Arrowhead Studios Helldivers 2 release, but instead the PSN account requirement was implemented after the title had already been out for months on the Steam platform. During that time, fans have spoken their piece during the time Helldivers 2 faced the same requirement, and hundreds of players flocked to forums and Steam pages to complain about the decision mainly asking why it wasn’t optional.
The active Steam player base reflected this decision, in May 2024 (when the policy went into effect) there was a drop off of 54% of the Steam players due to the policy. Although the choice was reversed only a few days later (with Sony stating it was still “learning what’s best for PC players”) and thousands have bounced back on Helldivers 2, the player base still hasn’t fully recuperated according to Steam Charts.
Apparently Sony hasn’t continued to learn, as The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered faces the same requirement. On the Steam page for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, the requirements read “Requires 3rd-Party Account: PlayStation Network (Supports Linking to Steam Account)” off on the side. It’s worth mentioning the previous release, The Last of Us Part 1, did not have the same requirements at launch, and still don’t have these requirements as of this posting on Steam. It’s also worth mentioning while Helldivers 2 is an online-only title, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is single player, and doesn’t require the internet to play.
Sony has not commented on the requirements of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered for Steam, and if they do make a statement, CGMagazine will keep readers posted with an update here.
