The upcoming tag-team fighting game Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has been blocked for purchase in 132 countries on Steam, as documented on SteamDB. Players across a wide range of territories will be unable to buy or play the game when it launches on August 6, 2026, unless the restrictions are lifted before release.
Read the wider context in Marvel Tokon Open Beta Hits PC With Major Performance Issues and Stuttering.
The full list of affected countries spans 132 territories across multiple continents, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and many others. The restrictions apply exclusively to the Steam version of the game, which is published under PlayStation Publishing LLC and developed by Arc System Works, the studio behind acclaimed fighting franchises like Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Neither Arc System Works nor Sony has issued an official statement explaining the block, but the affected countries share a telling commonality: every single one lacks access to the PlayStation Network (PSN). This pattern strongly suggests that Marvel Tokon will require a PSN account to play on PC, a requirement that prevents Steam from selling the game in regions where PSN is not available.
If that sounds familiar, it is because PC gamers have been through this before. In May 2024, Sony attempted to mandate PSN account linking for Helldivers 2 on Steam, a game that had launched two months earlier without any such requirement. The announcement triggered immediate backlash. Sony updated the Steam listing to block sales in 177 territories where PSN was not supported, effectively removing the game from large portions of the global market. Players responded with one of the most intense review bomb campaigns in Steam history, with over 84,000 negative reviews flooding the game's page in a matter of days. Arrowhead Game Studios developers publicly sided with players, and one community manager even encouraged fans to leave negative reviews. The pressure worked. Within 48 hours, Sony reversed its decision and dropped the mandatory PSN requirement. Regional restrictions on Helldivers 2 were eventually lifted entirely in June 2025.
The Marvel Tokon situation mirrors that controversy in nearly every respect, except for one critical difference: this time, the PSN requirement appears baked in from the start rather than added post-launch. The game has never been available for purchase in restricted regions, suggesting that Sony and Arc System Works designed the Steam release with PSN linking as a core requirement rather than a retroactive addition. Whether Sony will handle the situation differently than it did with Helldivers 2 remains an open question, but the earlier controversy established a clear precedent: the PC gaming community has demonstrated it will push back when platform restrictions shrink the global market.
The regional blocking comes amid a wider shift in Sony's strategy. The company recently announced it would end physical disc production for new PlayStation games in January 2028, signaling an aggressive push toward an all-digital ecosystem. PSN account requirements on PC games fit within that same vision, effectively tying the PlayStation brand to every platform where its games appear. For Sony, each PSN-linked PC sale represents a new user added to its ecosystem, a potential customer for PlayStation Plus subscriptions, DLC, and future purchases. For players in regions without PSN access, however, that strategy means being locked out entirely.
As for the game itself, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is scheduled to launch on August 6, 2026, for PC and PlayStation 5. The 4v4 tag-team fighter features a roster of Marvel heroes and villains including Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade, Deadpool, Loki, Carnage, Green Goblin, and Magneto. Developed by Arc System Works in partnership with PlayStation, the game represents one of the highest-profile Marvel fighting game projects since Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and early previews have highlighted the studio's signature blend of fast-paced combat and hand-drawn style animation.
Sony and Arc System Works have not confirmed whether PSN account linking will actually be required to play the game on PC. The regional block pattern strongly suggests the answer is yes, but no official announcement has been made. Players in affected regions are left waiting for clarification on whether the game will become available in their territories before or after launch. For now, the Steam page for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls remains accessible for browsing in blocked regions, but the purchase option is disabled. With launch just over a month away, Sony has a narrowing window to clarify its position. If the Helldivers 2 saga taught the industry anything, it is that the PC audience does not take regional lockouts quietly.
