HELLDIVERS™ 2 News

Helldivers 2 receives influx of positive reviews after PSN backtrack

Helldivers 2 has had, to put it one way, a hell of a week. It quickly went from one of the biggest hits of 2024 so far-a game whose success this year is only rivalled by the likes of Palworld, Balatro, and Manor Lords-to one that was widely condemned when, recently, players were told that they'd need to link their Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network (PSN) account, even if they only planned to play on PC. As a result, Helldivers 2 ended up delisted in 177 countries that don't support PSN accounts and review bombed to the point that the once beloved game sank to a 'Mostly Negative' rating on Steam. Now, however, the account linking requirement has been dropped and Helldivers 2's Steam rating is beginning to recover.

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Helldivers 2 drops PSN account linking requirement for Steam players after widespread backlash

It’s been a tumultuous few days for Helldivers 2, as one of this year’s most beloved runaway hits managed to seemingly undo all of its goodwill and earn the ire of thousands of players in the blink of an eye.

На фоне широкого резонанса Sony официально отказалась от решения сделать обязательным вход в PlayStation Network для ПК-версии Helldivers 2.

The Helldivers 2 PSN account linking backlash was so bad, Ghost of Tsushima devs have to clarify PC players won't need to do it for single-player

It’s been a roller coaster of a week for Sony Interactive Entertainment, all thanks to the unforced error made with Helldivers 2. Out of the blue, the company, through developer Arrowhead, decided that all PC players would need to create a PlayStation Network account and link it to their Steam account if they want to continue playing.

PSN account-linking has been an option since the launch of the game, but suddenly making it a requirement rubbed people the wrong way, not least because many simply cannot create a PSN account, as the service is not available where they live. Sony was so committed to the move, it had to pull the game off sale from more than 170 countries where PSN is not available.

Needless to say, the backlash has been massive, sending the game’s Steam review score tumbling and causing an overwhelmingly negative response everywhere. While many players were rightly fuming, some turned their attention to the other major Sony PC release on the horizon: Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut.

Sony has announced that the planned PlayStation Network account requirement for Helldivers 2 across all platforms - a decision that would have left a huge number of players unable to play the game from their home countries - has been cancelled. This announcement came via the official PlayStation Twitter account, which broke the news mere minutes ago.

The statement is as follows, "Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

"We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans."

Prior to this walk-back, this decision to re-enable mandatory PlayStation Network account in order to play the PC version of Helldivers 2 led to astronomical levels of negative Steam reviews for the otherwise beloved 3rd person shooter last Friday. While Sony had remained quiet over the weekend, the CEO of Arrowhead (developer of Helldivers 2) was quick and constant with public posts updating fans on the situation. It seems with this retraction, both the devs and players can be at peace.

Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.We’re still…

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024

That's not to say damage hasn't already been done. Helldivers 2 remains negatively reviewed on Steam - a black mark that will likely take some time to scrub clean. In addition, this controversy has splashed onto other Arrowhead games, with Helldivers 1 seeing its own share of review bombing.

And what of Sony? As a compnay that has been keen to express its desire to expand into the live service space, buying up Bungie and obviously publishing Helldivers 2, it's been a puzzling weekend for those excited about the gaming megacorporation's sensibilities. A blunder like this has without a doubt dulled the shine on its golden goose. It may, for both players and developers thinking of teaming up with Sony, seed doubt on its ability to leave projects in a good place.

We'll have to sit back and see the longterm impact of this weekend's debacle. However, for now, Helldivers 2 is back on the menu. No string's attached!