You won’t need a PSN account to play Ghost of Tsushima single-player, devs reassure after Helldivers 2 fallout

After the backlash and subsequent U-turn on Helldivers 2 requiring players to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account, the next PlayStation flagship headed to PC has sought to reassure players that you won’t need a PSN account to play its single-player campaign. Multiplayer’s a different case, though.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut hits PC on May 16th, offering up an expanded version of Sucker Punch’s 2020 samurai adventure that includes its Iki Island expansion and the co-op Legends multiplayer mode originally added as free post-launch DLC.

The former PS4 exclusive’s arrival on PC marks the first time that those on PC have the chance to earn PlayStation trophies while playing, alongside the respective Steam or Epic achievements. PlayStation trophy support accompanies a new PlayStation overlay accessible in-game by pressing Shift + F1, which will also let you play cross-platform with those on console via a PlayStation friends list.

While Sucker Punch previously confirmed that the PlayStation overlay will be optional, they’ve now clarified around the requirement for a PlayStation Network account in general to play the upcoming game. The detail comes in the wake of Helldivers 2’s chaotic plans to introduce mandatory PSN account-linking on Steam last week, only to pull the requirement after hundreds of thousands of negative reviews and widespread complaints from players.

When it comes to Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, Sucker Punch confirmed in a recent TwiXXer reply (well spotted, RPS fansite PC Gamer) that you won’t need a PlayStation Network account to play the game’s single-player campaign. Given that the story is really the main draw of Ghost of Tsushima, that’s good news indeed.

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If you plan on giving the wave-based Legends mode a go, though, you will need to create a PSN account and sign in to play online – no doubt in part due to its integration with the newly cross-platform PlayStation friends list.

I previously played Ghost of Tsushima on PlayStation and enjoyed both its single-player open-world action and the later addition of Legends a heck of a lot. That said, Legends is easily skippable if you’re not fussed about playing with friends – it’s a solid but fairly lightweight addition – and just prefer to focus on adventuring across historical Japan in the game’s campaign. If requiring a PlayStation account might be the thing that tips you either way, know that you won’t be missing much if you decide to just stick with the story.