In May 2024, Steam purchase restrictions appeared for Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut in regions where PlayStation Network (PSN) was unavailable. The timing followed the Helldivers 2 account-linking backlash, but the restrictions’ cause and responsibility were not confirmed. Regional availability later changed, so the 2024 delisting does not establish whether the game can be bought in a particular country today.
What happened in May 2024?
On 10 May 2024, SteamDB reported that Steam purchase restrictions had been added for Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, resembling restrictions affecting Helldivers 2. Contemporary reports described the scope differently: PC Gamer called it nearly 200 countries and territories, while Push Square reported 180 territories. Neither figure was an official Sony-published count.
The restriction concerned whether people in those Steam regions could purchase the game. It did not, by itself, mean every existing owner had lost the ability to launch it. Some customers who had preordered reportedly received refunds, but the available reports do not establish a universal loss of access for existing licenses.
Steam’s backend showed the restrictions, but contemporary coverage did not establish whether Sony, Valve, or both were responsible for applying them. Sony did not provide a verified public explanation in the reporting covered here, so a specific motive should not be assumed.
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How did the Helldivers 2 controversy relate?
On 3 May 2024, Sony announced that PC players of Helldivers 2 would have to link a PSN account. The backlash centered in part on the fact that the game had already been sold in countries where PSN was unavailable. Sony later backed away from making account linking mandatory for Helldivers 2, but contemporaneous reporting said purchase restrictions remained in many non-PSN regions.
The timing made the new Ghost of Tsushima restrictions look like a sequel to that dispute. The connection is clear in the sequence of events, but the reporting did not confirm who imposed the restrictions or why.
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Why did the restriction draw criticism?
The PSN requirement applied to Ghost of Tsushima’s online Legends co-op mode, not its single-player campaign, according to contemporaneous coverage. That distinction made a regional purchase restriction especially contentious: players could not buy the game in some places even though the campaign did not require PSN sign-in.
Account eligibility and storefront availability are separate questions. A game package can have its own activation or online-mode requirements, while a store may separately decide where it can be purchased. A PSN restriction for Legends does not, on its own, explain why the full game was unavailable for purchase in a particular Steam region.
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Did availability change after the 2024 restriction?
A limited restoration in May 2024
On 17 May 2024, Windows Central reported that Steam availability had returned in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This was a restoration in five U.S. territories, not a global reversal.
Further changes in 2025
In June 2025, reporting described regional restrictions being removed for selected PlayStation PC games; Ghost of Tsushima was not included in the list then reported. Later, an October 2025 report said restrictions had been lifted in additional countries, including the Philippines. That report also said Legends and the PSN overlay continued to require PSN.
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The coverage therefore points to phased, partial changes rather than one clearly documented worldwide switch. SteamDB’s package page records an update on 27 October 2025 and documents package restrictions, but a package record is not a complete, current availability list for every country or storefront.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you buy Ghost of Tsushima in your country now?
The historical restrictions and later changes do not settle present-day purchase access for every region. Check the game’s listing in your own Steam or Epic country storefront for the current answer; access can differ by country and storefront, and the reviewed sources do not provide a live, comprehensive country-by-country matrix as of 8 October 2026.
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