It’s only been four days since God of War Ragnarök made its explosive debut on PC, and modders have wasted no time getting to work. One of the initial priorities for the modding community? To eliminate the game’s Sony software hooks, including a mod that successfully removes the need for a PlayStation Network (PSN) login.
While it’s not unusual for a Sony-published title to require a PSN account, the addition of this element has sparked controversy, especially following the backlash against a similar requirement in Helldivers 2. Although that game later dropped the PSN login post-launch, Sony has continued to integrate it into every subsequent PC release, much to the dismay of players.
Despite generally favorable reviews and solid performance for such a high-profile title, Ragnarök currently holds a “Mixed” rating on Steam, largely due to frustrations surrounding the mandatory PSN login. Responding to player discontent, a modder has released a straightforward patch on NexusMods, effectively removing the PlayStation PC SDK runtime requirement. The process is surprisingly simple—users only need to copy two .DLL files into the game directory. When prompted to link their Steam account to PSN, players can just hit “No” and dive straight into the action.
On one hand, requiring a PSN account for PC releases might not seem excessive, as Sony aims to strengthen its ecosystem and attract more gamers to its platform. After all, many titles on Steam also necessitate secondary logins. However, God of War, being a single-player narrative-driven experience, raises questions about the necessity of such a requirement. The benefits for Sony appear limited to data collection for analytics and marketing purposes, offering little in terms of enhanced functionality for players. While some criticisms may seem juvenile, they underscore a valid frustration with the integration of unnecessary logins in a game primarily focused on storytelling and solo gameplay.
