Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is blocked in 132 countries due to Sony’s controversial PSN linking requirement – but its Steam page is still visible

Sony has once again restricted regional access to a major title over its PlayStation Network requirements. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, an upcoming tag-team fighting game developed by Arc System Works, will be unavailable in 132 countries at its August 2026 Steam launch—a consequence of Sony’s mandatory PSN account linking requirement.

The blocked territories include Afghanistan, Haiti, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and numerous other nations where PlayStation Network access is not available. While the game’s Steam page remains visible to players in these regions, purchases are prevented, creating confusion among fighting game fans who can see but cannot buy the title.

This marks another instance of Sony imposing PSN-linked restrictions on PC releases. The policy mirrors the 2024 situation with Helldivers 2, which was pulled from 177 countries after its PSN requirement was added post-launch. Since then, Sony has applied similar regional restrictions to multiple PC ports of PlayStation games, including God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us 2 Remastered.

The controversial approach has drawn criticism from players and observers who view it as an unnecessary barrier to accessing games in regions where PSN infrastructure doesn’t exist. While Sony reversed some previous restrictions following player backlash, certain titles like Until Dawn remain regionally blocked, suggesting the company has not fully reversed course on the practice.

The situation highlights ongoing tensions between platform holders’ account requirements and global game distribution, particularly on open platforms like Steam where geographic restrictions can feel more restrictive to players than on closed ecosystems.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is blocked in 132 countries due to Sony’s controversial PSN linking requirement – but its Steam page is still visible

Sources