Stellar Blade's debut on the PC is scheduled for June 11. Despite the official confirmation, the arrival of the game on the Steam platform will not be global. More than 120 countries had the title blocked, a situation that caught even the developer herself, Shift Up, by surprise.
The South Korean company announced the release on social networks, but received messages from players informing that the game was not available in its regions. In response, Shift Up ensured that Stellar Blade for PC does not require PlayStation Network (PSN) account, but has shown strangeness with the restriction.
Steam restrictions generate frustration and misinformation
Consulting the SteamDB platform, it is possible to confirm that the game is, in fact, unavailable in countries where PSN does not officially operate either. The measure resembles the recent case of Helldivers 2, which faced mass boycott after demanding the binding with a PSN account, leading to its withdrawal from 177 countries.
Unlike that episode, Shift Up made it clear that the use of PSN will not be mandatory. Still, a cosmetic bonus can be unlocked if the player connects his account to Sony's service, which may have motivated the preventive block in some regions.
In addition to the regional restrictions, another recurring complaint is the inclusion of the denounted protection system. Known for its stiffness, the software is often malevant by players due to the impact on performance.
System requirements and expectation for high performance
Along with the release date confirmation, Shift Up released the technical specifications to run Stellar Blade on the PC. The minimum configuration requires Intel I5-7600K processor or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, with video card equivalent to a GTX 1060 or RX 580 and 16 GB of RAM. The game will occupy 75 GB in storage.
For higher performance, the requirements go up considerably. In 4K to 60 frames per second, at least one RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 7900 XT will be required. All listed settings recommend using SSD for better performance.
Sony has also confirmed that the additional content of the PC version will be available for free on PlayStation 5. Update reinforces the attempt to align the experiences between platforms despite geographical obstacles.
Expectation of higher sales on the PC
According to the financial report released in February, Shift Up bets on the commercial performance of the PC version as superior to the console. The company considers that third -person AAA action games have gained more space on the computer, especially in the Asian market.
Single Player's expansion, according to the developer, strengthens sales potential outside the PlayStation ecosystem. The studio bets on the migration of players to the PC, motivated by freedom of hardware and the lack of obligation of additional accounts.
With the release date already established and the ongoing repercussion, it remains to be seen if Sony will review the restrictions and release the game in markets blocked today. Until then, part of the community continues to await released access, while another prepares to run the title with the technical requirements announced.
