Breakdown
- Sony recently announced that from May 30 onwards, it will be mandatory for players with the Steam version of Helldivers 2 to sign in with their PSN account.
- Since this news was published, Helldivers 2 has been flooded with thousands of negative reviews.
- Helldivers 2 developer apologises to the fans, claiming they will make it up to them.
Recently, Helldivers 2 publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that following May 30, all players with the Steam version of Helldivers 2 will be required to sign in with the PlayStation Network account. Players will need to link their PSN account and Steam account by June 4 to play the game.
This was a requirement that was introduced for a brief period of time when Helldivers 2 was first released. It was removed back then due to some technical issues, but it’s back to haunt the Helldivers.
Some PC players do not have the PlayStation Network service available in their region, yet they are somehow expected to fulfil this PSN requirement. This has angered players from all over the world, as those who don’t have a PlayStation Network account will lose access to the game.
Within two days after this news was officially published, Helldivers 2 got hit with over 100,000 negative reviews. Following this protest, the CEO of Arrowhead, Johan Pilestedt, apologized on X, saying,
“Ouch, right in the review score. Well, I guess it’s warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!”
According to Sony, they are protecting players by forcing this PSN requirement; they say that it will make the community less toxic, as it will help ban players who are abusive and grief games.
“Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games.” Sony explains.
Sony adds that the PSN requirement will become mandatory for all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam from May 6, while current players will see this mandatory login from May 30.
I personally think Sony never thought this through, as they snatched the game from thousands of people by reintroducing this PSN requirement. Let's hope Sony realizes its mistake and corrects it before the developers and the players suffer even more from it.
Since you are here, you might as well want to look at our other articles on Helldivers 2, Helldivers 2 leaked video reveals mechs could be coming soon, Helldivers 2 is the most-played PlayStation game on PC ever, and Helldivers 2 CEO increases server size, but it’s still rough out there.