As a PC gamer I would be pissed too tbh (on the other hand, it's the same bullshit that Ubisoft pulls for their games released on Steam).
This sounds like a very simple class action
Also this is happening in other countries, not USA.
Though that seem to be enforced less often than people think it is, one Philippine player (a country that did not have PSN) was ejected from Sony's live esports events because of them entering using another country's flag (in this case, Hong Kong - it is a common practice for players in ASEAN region without PSN, such as Philippines and Vietnam, to create an Hong Kong or Singapore account): https://www.carmudi.com.ph/journal/local-player-qualifies-gr...
In the end I suspect affected players will get a refund.
It isn’t as big a deal as the gamers are making it seem.
So yah, they are kinda fucked if the EU comes after them legally.
I think players were already asked to link their accounts since the game's release, but it was optional (in the sense that you could easily skip that step).
also, for further context, here's the official announcement that sparked this whole thing: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850/view/41968685...