MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls may currently be unavailable in 132 countries where PlayStation Network is not officially supported. Sony has not said whether the restriction is deliberate, temporary or simply a mistake, but players are already fearing a repeat of the Helldivers 2 controversy.

PlayStation fans are furious after reports suggested that the PC release of MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls has been blocked in 132 countries. Players noticed regional restrictions connected to the game’s Steam availability, with the affected territories matching countries where PlayStation Network accounts cannot officially be created. That immediately led many to suspect that Sony may once again be tying PC access to a PSN requirement, creating the exact same problem that caused such a major backlash around Helldivers 2 two years ago.

Marvel Tōkon PC Is Reportedly Blocked in 132 Countries

The regional restrictions visible in Steam’s database suggest that MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls may be unavailable in countries where players cannot register for Sony’s online service. The situation closely resembles what happened with Helldivers 2 in 2024. Sony intended to require PC players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network profiles, but this would have made the game inaccessible in numerous countries where PSN was not officially available in the first place. The backlash became so intense that Sony reversed the requirement, and several PlayStation titles released on PC afterwards without mandatory PSN account linking.

The current situation may indicate that Sony is attempting to enforce the same system again with MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. Players from the affected regions have already reported receiving an error message when trying to access the game’s Steam store page, and if the current settings remain unchanged, they may be unable to buy the fighter when it launches on August 6. That said, the restriction cannot yet be treated as final. There is still time for the regional settings to change before release, and Sony has not confirmed either that the block is deliberate or that a PSN account will be mandatory for the PC version.

Why Could Marvel Tōkon Be Region-Locked on PC?

Many players believe cross-play is the most likely explanation. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is coming to both PlayStation 5 and PC, and its 4v4 team-based online ranked matches may require Sony to use a unified account system across platforms. Even if that is the reason, it would not solve the central problem: millions of players could be excluded from a game officially marketed for PC simply because PlayStation Network does not operate in their country.

The reaction became even more intense because the news arrived in the middle of the wider debate about PlayStation’s all-digital future. One ResetEra user wrote, “And this is the company we are supposed to trust with our all-digital future? Yeah, no thanks.” Another commenter argued that Sony “just keep dropping anti-consumer bombs left and right,” while a third player sarcastically added, “Discless future looking real good right now…” The anger is therefore not limited to the possible restriction around MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. It is also tied to the growing feeling that Sony is steering players toward a digital ecosystem with fewer choices and more limits controlled directly by the platform holder.

It remains possible that an incomplete or incorrect Steam configuration has appeared early and that the game will eventually be available in every territory where Steam itself is officially supported. Sony could also change course before launch. After Helldivers 2, however, players in the affected regions have every reason to distrust silence, and many will not feel reassured until MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls becomes visible and purchasable on Steam again for everyone.

Source: VICE