Update [Fri 16th May 2025, 6:45pm]:

Stellar Blade dev Shift Up says it’s doing its best to resolve an issue which is preventing its game from being sold in over 129 countries on Steam.

Many of Sony’s PC releases have been blocked from sale in countries that don’t officially have access to PSN, despite the manufacturer reversing its account mandates. The Korean developer has reiterated that PSN is not required to play the game.

The studio has also released frame rate charts to prove the game’s inclusion of Denuvo DRM has no impact on performance.

Original Story: Stellar Blade will not require a PSN account when it releases on PC next month, as per Sony’s recently revised policy. You will be able to unlock an additional outfit for heroine Eve if you do sync up your username, but that’s completely optional and not mandated in any way at all.

However, like practically all of PlayStation’s PC releases, the game will not be sold in 129 countries via Steam, for reasons fans are still trying to figure out. Presumably there’s some legal red-tape involved here, but only Sony will know the real reason behind its decision.

Countries blocked from buying the game include Egypt, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Worryingly, it doesn’t look like Korean developer Shift Up was aware of these restrictions. Responding to a couple of affected customers on X (or Twitter), the company used shocked and crying emojis and asked them where they live.

In other news, fans are frustrated that the game uses anti-piracy software Denuvo, which is often accused of impeding the performance of PC games.