The multiplayer game Helldivers 2 has been removed from Steam in many regions. The reason is an account requirement for Sony's PlayStation Network, which developer Arrowhead Game Studios or publisher Sony Computer Entertainment wants to introduce from May 6th for new players and May 30th for existing players. The problem: The PSN account can only be created in some countries, including Germany. The game has so far been available on Steam in many more countries. Many current players can no longer play the game, even if they wanted to comply with the account requirement. Some players report that they have received the purchase price back from Steam without meeting the otherwise necessary restrictions on playing time and purchase time for the automated return.
Helldivers 2 (in the game check) has been an extremely successful multiplayer game and a huge sales success for Sony. The game was released simultaneously on Playstation and PC and was currently seeing huge player numbers on Steam. With its humor based on the film Starship Troopers, its violent game content and its co-op multiplayer mode, it also achieved a lot of attention outside of its direct player base, for example with videos on YouTube and reports in traditional mass media.
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With the announcement now, there is no longer any sign of the players' positive attitude towards the game. Instead, the game has been so overwhelmed with negative reviews on Steam that only 19% of reviews from the last 30 days are positive, giving the game the worst possible rating category. The overall rating also fell to the middle rating category “Mixed”. However, it remains to be seen whether the in the Steam charts The reduction in player numbers that can be seen continues.
In addition to the specific problem with the availability of the PSN account and the general aversion to having an account outside of the Steam account, the specific bad image of the PSN account also plays a role, according to the user reviews. Sony has repeatedly been unable to defend itself against hacker attacks, and in 2011 user data from 77 million account holders was stolen in a hack of the Playstation Network. For many PC gamers, the PSN account requirement seems to be particularly unbearable.