Sony will restrict sales of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls in 132 countries on Steam ahead of its August 6 launch, according to SteamDB package details. The regional lockout mirrors the PSN account mandate that sparked outrage with Helldivers 2, which originally blocked 177 countries before Sony reversed course following intense community backlash. All versions of the fighting game carry the same restrictions, and the Steam page already confirms the account requirement.

The pattern suggests Sony has not internalized lessons from the Helldivers 2 debacle. Players in affected regions — many lacking official PlayStation Network support — cannot purchase the title regardless of platform. Community reaction has been swift and negative, raising the possibility of another policy reversal before release. However, the reduced country count (132 versus 177) indicates Sony may have quietly adjusted which regions fall under the requirement.

This restriction arrives amid broader strategic shifts: Sony confirmed it will cease physical game production by January 2027, drawing criticism from preservation advocates including the Video Game History Foundation. Separately, insider reports claim Sony has effectively halted PC ports of its single-player exclusives, limiting the platform's reach.

For consumers, the PSN gatekeeping renders a major Marvel fighting game inaccessible in over 100 nations without workarounds. For the industry, it signals Sony's willingness to sacrifice global PC revenue to enforce ecosystem lock-in — a strategy that failed publicly just months ago.