Marathon Won't Require A PSN Account Despite Being Owned By Sony

Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon might be owned by Sony, but non-PS5 players won't need a PSN account to play, according to an official response. The game, based on the 1990s Sci-Fi franchise, is set to release sometime soon for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. But, according to new information, only PS5 players will need to have a PSN account to play.

Marathon won't require players to log into their PSN accounts to access the game, as reported by Eurogamer. When asked by fans on Discord whether they'd need to sign onto PSN to play, a representative for Marathonassured fans that they wouldn't need to connect a PSN account, stating clearly: "Marathon will not require a PlayStation Account for players on PC and Xbox."

Marathon Gets A Gameplay Reveal This Weekend

A Creative Trailer Reveal Shows Marathon Is Willing To Try New Things

Marathon marks the revival of the classic 1990s trilogy by Bungie in a medium and genre best suited for modern audiences. Players will take the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries sent into the abandoned colony on Tau Ceti IV in search of riches. The game is already promising to be a creative take on the extraction shooter after Bungie teased the Marathon trailer using an ARG.

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For now, not much else is known about the game besides the screenshots and trailer that were already revealed, but that's about to change. A Marathon gameplay reveal showcase is planned to air on April 12 at 10 a.m. PT, according to a YouTube video on the official Marathon channel.

Bungie Will Avoid A Helldivers-Like Situation

One Round Of Backlash Was Enough

The idea of needing a PSN account in order to play a multiplayer game on a platform not owed by Sony has actually happened before. Last May, the popular cooperative multiplayer title Helldivers 2 attempted to make a PSN account link mandatory, but the backlash was so immediate and severe that Sony back-pedaled less than a week later.

It may seem like a trivial point, but requiring a PSN account wouldn't just have been inconvenient. Needing a PSN account would have revoked acces to the game for players who live in any of the 118 countries where PSN is not currently available.

Requiring a PSN account would have alienated fans in several countries and frustrated many players, if last year's Helldivers 2 controversy is anything to go by. Luckily, it seems that Sony may have learned from the Helldivers 2 situation and will not be requiring a PSN account for fans to play the upcoming Marathon.