The Helldivers 2 Controversy: How It’s Impacting the Series’ Debut Episode

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Controversy among the soldiers of democracy

If you play Helldiverse IIyou have obviously heard of the controversy from a few days ago. Perhaps you are even one of the valiant soldiers who tried to mobilize to overturn the decision taken by Sony considered unfair by the community. If this is not the case, a little reminder is in order. On February 8, Helldivers II surprised everyone by offering a devilishly addictive cooperative game that convinced a huge number of players. Published by Sony, the game is of course available on PlayStation 5 but also on PC. Players preferring the precision of a keyboard and mouse have therefore been able to happily enjoy this title without any problem for several months (except of course the numerous server problems upon release).

A few days ago, however, Sony has announced that PC gamers will have to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account if they want to continue playing in the coming months. While some didn't really see the problem immediately (making a PSN account isn't very difficult), certain details and the way in which this change was announced caused a stir. wave of indignation in the close-knit community of Helldivers II. Indeed, the two main problems were that PSN is not available in all countries around the world (and therefore that certain players who bought the game would no longer be able to play it) and that this change seemed to come out of nowhere, taking players in betrayal. Of course, it was planned from the start and the most conscientious could have read this clause in the conditions of use and on a meager line on the Steam page, but we cannot say that Sony was very talkative on this subject until 'see you a few days ago.

In response, the Helldivers II gaming community decided not to give in. Accustomed to fighting as one against hordes of Terminides and Automatons, they were not going to let themselves be defeated by a publisher eager for new accounts. Neither one nor two, players began to express their anger directly on Steam by carrying out a huge review-bombing. In just a few days, the game went from a more than laudatory public reception to absolutely disastrous ratings, pushing Sony to intervene. Following this organized defense, the publisher has therefore decided to backpedal and cancel the future obligation of having to link a Steam account to a PSN account to play Helldivers II.

Helldivers takes friendly fire

If the players of Helldivers II were therefore able to congratulate themselves on a remarkable defense against Goliath, however, they did not win this fight without collateral damage. Surely in an effort to attract Sony's attention, the Helldivers II community has indeed chosen to tackle the notes of the first Helldivers game in addition to its sequel. Thus, between May 3 (the date the controversy began) and today, The first Helldivers rose to a 70% rating on Steam, up from 90%. If friendly fire has always been part of the fun of Helldivers, its creator did not necessarily appreciate that his first game took a stray bullet:

The fact that the first Helldivers is being review-bombed because of the recent Helldivers II controversy saddens me deeply.

It must be said that the first episode of Helldivers has absolutely nothing to do with this controversy. Indeed, even if it is well published by Sony, there is no need to link a PSN account with a Steam account to play it on PC. On this subject, the creator of Helldivers pushes the envelope further and wonders what the next step will be:

What's next? Do a review-bombing on Magicka and Gauntlet (two games from Arrowhead Studios, editor's note)? Other PlayStation games?
[…]
Targeting games that have no connection to this controversy makes no sense. This controversy is about Helldivers 2 and the PSN tie-in policy.

If the creator of Helldivers II and his communications team have often acted in favor of the players in this controversy, this collateral damage does not seem to pass with as much ease. Now that the problem has been fixed anyway even on Helldivers II, we hope that those who gave Helldivers a bad rating will consider modifying it to cancel the review-bombing.