Phantasy Star Online 2 Now Live On Steam

Phantasy Star Online 2's long awaited release on Steam has finally come, hitting the global PC platform today. With this move, PSO2 is now available in 35 countries world wide. However, the process to link accounts might be confusing for some.

The Steam version available today also supports cross-platform, assuming you link your account with your Xbox Live account. This will allow players to play their characters on any version, be it Steam or even on the Xbox One platform. However, the team cautions players to not start Phantasy Star Online 2 on any new platform until they read the linking process.

You'll want to give the official news post from Phantasy Star Online 2 a read before linking your account, as it seems once you create a new character or player ID from the new platform the process is irreversible. 

Per the instructions: 

ATTENTION: Do not start Phantasy Star Online 2 on a new platform until you fully understand this account-linking process. Creating a character/setting up a Player ID on a new platform is irreversible and you will not be able to link your account after the fact.

For players who want to begin using Steam to play Phantasy Star Online 2, you'll want to first log into your Windows 10 or Xbox version first. Once there, navigate to the Support Menu and select "issue an account-linking code." This code will expire after 15 minutes, so you'll want to do this quickly. Once you have the code, log onto Steam and select your Ship. From there, you'll enter the code and if all went well you'll have your accounts linked. 

If you've been playing on Steam and want to migrate your account to Xbox One or Windows 10, simply reverse the order - get the code from Steam first and log into the new platform, select your ship and enter the code.

Alongside the Steam release, Phantasy Star Online 2 has also released Episode 4, expanding upon the story of the venerable Japanese MMO. Via the press release:

The Phantasy Star Online 2 story continues in Episode 4 as players wake from a long sleep to find that there has been an internal invasion of fake ARKS members,  mysterious enemies called "Phantasms" appear, and a new planet has been discovered in another dimension – Earth. ARKS will be able to unlock a new level cap and travel to new locations like Tokyo and Las Vegas in the pursuit of solving the mystery of the black shadow and purge the planet of the most powerful enemies encountered yet, including the mysterious organization called Mother Corps.

Phantasy Star Online 2 is poised to get even more interesting next year with its major update, New Genesis. This update, revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase last month, brings with it an overhaul to the graphics engine, a new open world and more.