We’re Listening: PlayStation Reverses Decision on Helldivers 2 Controversy

Helldivers 2: all hell breaks loose on Arrowhead and Sony's shooter

On February 8, Arrohead and Sony launched Helldivers II, a multi-shooter largely inspired by Starship Trooper in which you face robots and alien insects in groups. The community of the first game responded to the call, but no one saw the colossal success of the title coming. Very quickly, the influx of players put a strain on the servers, which were clearly not designed to absorb such a quantity of fighters. Updates have since been frequent, and the idea of ​​a universe evolving according to the wishes of the Game Masters has largely contributed to the excellent image of the game.

While the sky over Arrowhead and Sony had been absolute blue for more than three months, the storm arrived. In a press release, the studio announced that starting May 6, new PC players would need to link their Steam account to a PSN account. An obligation which was then to be extended to all other players from May 30. This obligation had already been announced and we already find it with other publishersbut the studio and Sony had chosen to postpone its implementation.

In response to this announcement, many players began posting negative reviews on the game's Steam page, often specifying that only Sony was targeted. Whether Sony and the studio indicate that this is a security measure has changed nothing, Helldivers 2 ended up with an average overall rating and extremely negative recent reviews. To sum up, Helldivers 2 was the victim of review bombing. James Pilestedt, the boss of Arrowhead, himself admitted that he had decided to suspend the linking of accounts, and that he regretted not having communicated enough on the fact that this suspension was only temporary.

See Helldivers II on Amazon

Faced with discontent, Sony backtracks

More complicated than it seemed, this situation questioned access to the game in countries where PSN is not officially available. In the terms of service, Sony states that players must register in their country of residence, while admitting that it is possible to create an account abroad in case of travel or studies. In fact, no one has been suspended for creating an account elsewhere, as long as the activity remains “normal”. The fact remains that, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, over 100 countries have lost the ability to purchase Helldivers 2 on Steam. The use of review bombing is more than criticizable for a whole bunch of reasons, but it is clear that, in this case, the discontent has reached the ears of the editor. Early this morning, Sony simply announced that the obligation to link a PSN account to a Steam account was no longer on the agenda. :

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 players and for current players at from May 30, will not take place. We're still learning what's best for PC gamers and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we will keep you posted on future projects.

A very well received announcement, players reminding that as consumers, they have the power. Many also take the opportunity to invite Steam and the authors of negative posts to remove them now that the problem is resolved. “Now everyone can leave Arrowhead alone“, we can read onthe consequences that this can have on development teams who can do absolutely nothing about it. It remains to be seen whether the cleaning will be done.