Stellar Blade devs seem as confused as everyone else as the action RPG’s PC port gets region locked in over 100 countries despite no PSN requirements: “May I ask where you live?”

In contrast to Stellar Blade’s PC launch not necessitating a PSN account, it appears to be subject to the same geographical restrictions that have been an issue with other recent adaptations of PlayStation-produced games. It remains unclear why Sony continues to enforce region locks on these titles, leaving even the developers at Shift Up perplexed.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Stellar Blade, but as SteamDB shows (and IGN has pointed out), it’s been blocked in over 100 countries, leaving me disappointed. As a fellow gamer tweeted, “I’ve been saving up for you for a year, ready to drop $100 on the game only to find out it’s now banned in my country because there’s no PSN. What’s going on here?

In simpler terms, the official response to the query about the PC version of Stellar Blade is that it doesn’t need a PlayStation Network account. However, they seem curious and have been inquiring about people’s locations, as the studio has asked this question of multiple players who’ve expressed concerns over the game’s region lock on Twitter.

In the planning for Helldivers 2, the specified PlayStation Network (PSN) requirements sparked debate, with a key issue being that PSN isn’t accessible in numerous regions where one typically purchases Steam games. Although they removed the account requirement, the region lock remains, and the list of prohibited countries for Helldivers 2 is quite similar to Stellar Blade’s.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that Sony’s taken a different approach with their PC games, opting not to enforce strict PSN requirements. Instead, they offer special in-game bonuses for players who connect their accounts. And that’s exactly how it works with Stellar Blade as well.

Despite all the latest PC games from this publisher such as The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Lego Horizon Adventures being strictly tied to specific regions, the motive behind this remains unclear. It seems that Stellar Blade will follow suit and not be available globally.

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2025-05-16 19:10