The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the latest PlayStation game to require a PSN account on PC
Despite last year's Helldivers 2 outcry.
It's probably not a huge surprise to hear at this point, but Sony has confirmed The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered will - like numerous other single-player PlayStation games before it - require a PSN account in order to play when it launches for PC this April.
Sony, of course, faced a major backlash last May when it announced it would be making PSN accounts mandatory for Helldivers 2 on PC - a move that meant players in the 177 countries where PSN is unavailable would no longer be able to play the game they'd purchase. Ultimately, the outcry was significant enough that Sony relented, but that hasn't stopped it from implementing PSN requirements for an increasing number of PC ports since then.
It's a decision that's continued to draw criticism given the requirement - which was originally justified as being necessary for the "safety and security" of online play - is now being implemented across both multiplayer and single-player games. Ghost of Tsushima, for instance, does have a multiplayer component, despite being a predominantly single-player title, while other PC releases requiring PSN - such as Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, God of War Ragnarök, and Until Dawn - are purely single-player experiences.
And now The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (as spotted by VGC) has joined the steadily expanding list of predominantly single-player PlayStation titles - online leaderboards are supported in its roguelike No Return mode - requiring a PSN log-in on PC.
For most, that requirement is probably little more than a somewhat irritating inconvenience. But for others - namely, those based in one of the aforementioned 117 regions where PSN is unavailable - it means The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered simply won't be purchasable on PC. And given Sony previously confirmed this month's PC port of the single-player Marvel's Spider-Man 2 also requires a PSN account, it appears this is a path it's now determine to follow.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered launches for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on 3rd April, the same month season two of HBO's acclaimed The Last of Us television series begins airing. Digital Foundry called the remaster - which includes the likes of increased texture resolution, increased level-of-detail distances, and improved shadow quality - the "best way to play a genuine classic" when it arrived on PlayStation 5 last year.