Arc System Works and PlayStation's upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls will be unavailable at launch in 132 countries, with players and industry observers pointing to Sony's PSN access requirements as the culprit.
The tag-team fighting game, scheduled for August 6, 2026 on PC and PS5, faces geographical restrictions across a wide swath of nations including Afghanistan, Haiti, Serbia, Zimbabwe, and Egypt. While neither Sony nor Arc System Works has officially confirmed the reason for the blackout, the pattern is unmistakable: PlayStation Network access is unavailable in every single blocked region.
This is not Sony's first stumble with regional lockouts tied to PSN infrastructure. Last year, developer Arrowhead Studios revealed that Helldivers 2 would be similarly region-locked across 177 territories due to PSN requirements. Public backlash forced Sony to reverse that decision, ultimately removing the PSN login mandate from the game's PlayStation 5 and PC versions.
The Helldivers 2 reversal offered hope that Sony might learn from the controversy. Instead, Marvel Tokon appears to be heading down the same path. While the current block affects fewer countries than Helldivers 2 did, it still excludes millions of potential players from day-one access to a title featuring marquee Marvel characters like Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Blade, Deadpool, Loki, Carnage, Green Goblin, and Magneto.
Arc System Works has remained silent on the issue. A request for comment from the developer went unanswered at press time.
The timing adds another layer of frustration for Sony's gaming division. In recent weeks, the company has faced criticism over an internal memo suggesting a pullback from PC releases, announced an end to physical game production in early 2028, and now finds itself at odds with fans over accessibility decisions that seem entirely self-imposed.
For players in the affected regions, the situation echoes a familiar and frustrating pattern: corporate infrastructure decisions that have no bearing on gameplay or content, yet still serve as a barrier to entry. The question now is whether Sony will double down or, as with Helldivers 2, eventually relent when the complaints grow loud enough.
Author Emily Chen: "Sony had a chance to learn from Helldivers 2, and instead it looks like the company is repeating the exact same mistake with a different game."
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