Marvel Tōkon is unbuyable in 132 countries and Sony knew it would be

Sony did not stumble into this. When Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches on PC this August, the buy button will simply not exist for players in 132 countries-not because of licensing disputes, not because of regional age ratings, but because Sony demands a PlayStation Network account to play a Steam game, and PSN does not exist in those territories. The store page is still visible. The trailers still play. But the transaction is dead on arrival. This is the same PSN linking playbook Sony already tried on PC, except this time there is no weekend of chaos to walk back. The block has been active since pre-orders opened in February, and the August 6 launch date is approaching with no indication that anyone at Sony or Arc System Works intends to change the map.

Where the Buy Button Dies

The bulk of the block lands across three regions where the practical impact is impossible to ignore. Most African nations are cut off, including Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa-markets where PSN services are either unavailable or so restricted that they might as well be. In Eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of the former Soviet Union are fenced out where Sony never built the infrastructure. Then there is the Caribbean, where most islands are on the blacklist despite a fighting game culture that punches well above its weight in competitive brackets. Arc System Works built a team fighter with crossplay ambitions, then handed the PC distribution to a platform holder that treats two-thirds of the globe as an afterthought.

For players in these regions, the current situation is binary. You cannot purchase the game through Steam normally. You cannot create a local PSN account to satisfy the requirement because the service is not supported there. The only path left is account manipulation-using VPNs, foreign payment methods, or purchased accounts—which violates both Sony’s and Valve’s terms of service and risks a ban that wipes your library. That is not a solution. That is a tax on access.

PSN Linking Is Not Just a Login Prompt

There is a tendency to treat mandatory PSN linking as an annoyance—a pop-up you click through before the main menu. For 132 countries, it is a hard kill switch. When a Steam release ties core functionality to a separate platform account, the purchase block is only the most visible symptom. Crossplay and launch access itself can be gated behind that same login wall. If your country cannot register a PSN account, you are not just blocked from the checkout page. You are blocked from the ecosystem the game was designed around.

We have seen this shape before. The last time Sony forced PSN linking on a major PC release, the backlash was loud enough to force a temporary retreat. Arc System Works’ fighter is launching into the same wall before it has a community to complain with. Sony is effectively pre-filtering its player base by nationality, betting that the revenue loss from blocked regions is worth the PSN account growth in the markets it actually cares about.

The Pre-Buy Checklist

If you are considering Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls on PC, treat the purchase as conditional until you verify the following:

• Check your country’s PSN status. If PlayStation Network does not officially support account creation in your region, Steam will not let you complete the purchase.
• Confirm purchase eligibility before paying. The store page may load, but the cart will reject the transaction. Do not preload funds or buy Steam gift cards for this specific release until the buy button is live in your territory.
• Do not rely on VPN workarounds. Routing through another country to create a PSN account violates Sony’s terms and can result in account termination. Your entire digital library is not worth one fighting game.
• Use the beta as a test. The open beta runs July 24-26 on PS5 and PC. If you are in a blocked region, attempt to access the Steam beta page. If the download is region-locked, the final build almost certainly will be too.

What to Watch Before August 6

The open beta starting July 24 is the first real stress test. Watch whether players in the affected 132 countries can even download the client on Steam. If the beta is gated by the same PSN lock, the August 6 launch is guaranteed to follow suit. Also watch for any stealth policy change between now and release. Sony quietly updated regional availability for other titles after public pressure, but so far there is no sign of a reversal. If your country is on the list, do not spend money on this game until the Steam cart actually lets you check out.