While many believed that the idea of PC versions of PlayStation games being blocked in several countries across the world was behind us, it looks like this isn’t the case. An update to the Steam version of fighting game Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, as caught by SteamDB, indicates that the title won’t be available in 132 countries.
Despite the title otherwise being a global release, the fact that the PC version of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls will require players to sign in to their PlayStation Network accounts to access any of its multiplayer features essentially means that the title won’t be available in regions that don’t have official support for PlayStation Network.
We last saw this play out with the PC release of Helldivers 2. When Sony suddenly decided to enforce PlayStation Network sign-ins for the co-op shooter, many players who were previously able to enjoy the game found themselves unable to do so, since Sony hadn’t started supporting PlayStation Network in their countries yet.
Sony had eventually decided to turn back from this decision following quite a bit of backlash and removed the PlayStation account requirement from Helldivers 2. Rather than enforcing the account, the company instead decided to offer players rewards for signing in with their PlayStation accounts. This was applied across Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, God of War Ragnarok, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
It is worth noting that this has become less of an issue since Sony reportedly decided to stop releasing its single-player titles on PC, and has started only really looking at the platform for multiplayer games.
Interestingly, the most recently-published PC game by the company – Marathon – had no PlayStation account requirement. This was likely done in a bid to attract as wide a player base for the multiplayer PvPvE extraction shooter as possible. “Marathon will not require a PlayStation Account for players on PC and Xbox,” confirmed Bungie back in April last year.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a brand-new tag fighter developed by Arc System Works – the studio behind the Guilty Gear franchise and Dragon Ball FighterZ. The title will feature stylized versions of popular Marvel characters throughout its roster, leaning quite hard on the 3D anime aesthetics that the studio is known for with its other titles.
Earlier this month, Arc System Works released a new trailer for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, giving us a look at its take on Iron Man. While his moveset will be familiar to fans of the classic Marvel vs. Capcom series, the character is equipped with plenty of new moves in the upcoming fighting game.
Along with his typical zoning and combo capabilities, Iron Man in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is also capable of shooting out Smart Missiles. While these missiles have a delay before they hit an opponent, players will likely be able to figure out how they can be used to initiate combos through mix-ups to pressure their opponents.
Arc System Works had revealed the final set of characters available in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls leading up to its launch. The characters were unveiled as part of the Samurai Outriders team, which includes Ghost Rider, Blade, Deadpool, and Loki.
