This isn’t really shocking news as Sony has been making it very clear that all of their PC releases will require a PSN account, but here goes: the newly announced Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered will need a PlayStation Network account on PC.
The news was shared via the PlayStation Blog where Jan-Bart van Beek. Studio Director and Studio Art & Animation Director at Guerrilla, discussed the version of Zero Dawn. A host of upgrades are being made, all of which owners of the game can snag for $9.99 when it launches on October 31st.
When mentioning the PC version, a small note is included which states: “Account for PlayStation Network required on PC.”
Again, not shocking as the recently released God of War: Ragnarok has exactly the same requirement, as does Ghost of Tsushima. However, God of War: Ragnarok has suffered from a number of negative Steam user reviews owing to its PSN requirement, although it does hold a “mostly positive” rating.
In fact, somebody has already managed to release a mod that strips out the PSN requirement.
Personally, the need for an account doesn’t actually bother me, but I can see why it annoys other people. It shouldn’t be required, especially for singleplayer games, and the only reason for its existence is data collection and so Sony can bolster its PSN numbers. And people’s complaints regarding the system are perfectly valid, such as UK users finding that they need to supply a mobile number, and if that fails a form of ID needs to be given to a third-party website. Other users report being frustrated at having to hand over information such as their home address. Sony doesn’t have a great track record with its security, so people have a reasonable right to be fearful of providing their personal data, especially since they get nothing out of the deal.
I think having the account be optional would be a much better decision on Sony’s end. Some form of fun bonus or incentive could be offered for making one, too. That said, I think people will care less and less as this is going to be the norm moving forward, and while it’s a pain in the ass I can’t imagine Sony are overly concerned that a majority of people won’t buy its games because of it. Still, why lose those sales, no matter how few they may be in the grand scheme of things?