God of War Ragnarok’s PC launch falls flat as PSN requirement turns gamers away

The long-awaited PC release of God of War: Ragnarok has finally come; however, it seems that hype has died off at the eleventh hour and players aren’t eager to hop on, with the game’s player count at launch falling significantly below its predecessor—likely due to the criticized PlayStation Network account requirement.

Compared to the first title, which saw some 71,000 concurrent players during its heyday, Ragnarok has managed to draw in only 31,000 according to SteamDB—a sharp drop of about 60 percent. While sequels often don’t meet the expectations set by their predecessors, this much of a dip might have something to do with a broader issue, namely Sony’s PSN account requirement the company is so adamant about attaching to its titles. One would think that following the damaging effect the requirement had on Ghost of Tsushima and Helldivers 2, Sony would relent—but alas, here we are.

Players across social media and on Steam itself have been lambasting Sony for the decision to require a PSN account on a singleplayer title that shouldn’t even need an online connection to begin with. “Honestly, I’m proud of PC gamers for just not bending over for this,” said one Reddit user on Sept. 20 while commenting on the “review bomb” that Ragnarok received on launch.

PSN account linking doesn’t only have the effect of barring entry without signing in. By default, it bars players from over 170 countries and territories from even coming close to purchasing it from official stores, seeing as Sony only offers PSN services to a select handful of states.

“Maybe barring 100+ countries from playing it wasn’t such a good idea after all,” another fan said in a discussion regarding the low Ragnarok player count. Reviews continue to pile in for the Steam release, with the rating fluctuating between “Mostly Positive,” specifically highlighting how well the game runs on PC, and “Mixed,” with many taking their anger at the PSN drama out on the game.

At the end of the day, whatever the precise reasoning for it, God of War: Ragnarok is underperforming on the PC. Being significantly lower than the first title is indicative of a bigger issue—one that Sony has perpetuated since its first controversy with Helldivers 2 earlier this year.