We don't really know what's going on, but at the moment, it's drama after drama, just controversies in the video game world, unless you're a Twitter fan, in which case, nothing really new, it This is the daily life of this platform. Jokes aside, after TopSpin 2K25 which asked for nothing, it's the turn of Helldivers 2 to take a huge hit on social networks and to be the victim of massive review bombing on the game's Steam page. But what exactly happened? A question that many are asking given that the controversy was dazzling, since it started Friday in the middle of the day before concluding this very morning. So, going from success to fiasco, there is sometimes only one step to take…
Helldivers 2 is by far Sony PlayStation's biggest success in 2024. Certainly the year is not yet over, but the title developed by the Arrowhead studio is the perfect example of the live-service game that it must be followed, so much so that since its release last February, the title has enjoyed a massive and active community which allows it to shine all over the world. The game is approaching 100 million hours played in less than 3 months, with a peak of more than 333,000 players connected simultaneously, the success is colossal, and above all unexpected. The story is beautiful and in real life, she would have stopped at that and continued to benefit from this momentum of camaraderie online and take advantage of her notoriety to continue to keep the game alive for a long time. Except… Except that Sony has decided to suddenly change the rules of the game. In a message posted on the Helldivers 2 Steam page and dated May 3, i.e. Friday, just before the weekend, we learn that from May 6, 2024, today, to be able to continue playing the game, PC players will have to create a PlayStation account and link it to their Steam account. Here is what the message says once translated into French:
Advertisement
Due to technical issues during the launch of Helldivers 2, we have allowed the requirements for linking Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. This grace period will now expire.
A message which was obviously not received in the best way by PC players, known for being demanding, and above all for never giving in. In the space of a few hours, messages denouncing this shameful practice on the part of Sony began to flood social networks, and the community made its dissatisfaction known by review-bombing their favorite game on the Steam page. More than 350,000 negative opinions on Helldivers 2, drastically dropping its overall rating, suffice to say that it went badly on the developers' side. Jhan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Studios, even apologized to players on Twitter, implying that this decision was not his and that his goal is to simply make good games.
A success story that becomes a controversy in the space of a few hours, just for creating an additional PlayStation account? There you have it, the kind of messages that we could read on Twitter in particular, some people not really seeing it as something to create a new drama on social networks.
Basically, this decision taken by Sony was legitimate, the Japanese manufacturer explaining that linking Steam and PlayStation Network accounts was intended to strengthen security, and that there was talk of doing so from the launch of the game last February, except that technical problems postponed the implementation of the PSN account on PC. Here's what the developers were saying before things went sour:
We take online safety seriously and it is our main way of protecting players from grievance and abuse: by allowing the banning and suspension of players who engage in this type of behavior. By linking accounts, you benefit from our support team's infrastructure for reporting these bad actors (and our appeals process if you get banned/suspended). All of this helps us make Helldivers 2 a safer and more enjoyable space for everyone.
A message which was there to reassure, especially since other publishers like Microsoft, Ubisoft and Rockstar have been doing it for years, the proof to play Sea of Thieves on PS5, you must create a Microsoft account in addition to your PlayStation Network account. If this is more of an inconvenience for PC players, very quickly, this obligation to have a PlayStation account caused another problem, much more serious, since Helldivers 2 suddenly found itself unavailable in nearly 177 countries in the world, countries where PlayStation Network is not available. Suffice it to say that there, the anger of the players was completely justified. Requests for reimbursement of the game followed immediately, pushing Sony to react quickly, and backpedal this very morning. Indeed, a tweet from PlayStation announced the immediate withdrawal of this PlayStation Network account:
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 accounts to be linked for new and current players at from May 30, will not go forward.
A priori, this should make it possible to restore the game's Steam pages in countries where the PlayStation Network is not available, and a real victory for the players, who have been congratulating themselves for several hours that it is democracy which has won, a reference to one of the game's punchlines of course. If this Steam PlayStation Network connection is a scandal for the majority, for others, it is above all a clumsiness on the part of Sony, and not an attempt to harm players, especially any Steam player could very well create a PSN account by selecting any other country and not just the one where the PSN was not available. Afterwards, I grant you, with 177 countries where the Sony service is not released, it could fall on the wrong area.
Advertisement
Moreover, in order to anticipate the slightest bad buzz, the Sucker Punch studio took the opportunity to specify that the Steam version of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, which will be released in 10 days, on May 16, will not require an account PSN to play solo, but you'll need one to enjoy the “Legends” multiplayer mode. Steam players have therefore been warned! But then, what do you think about it? Was the controversy justified, or are we in an era where all controversy becomes systematic?