When I played Gestalt: Steam & Cinder during Steam Next Fest last year, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I was just interested in trying out every Metroidvania and this fell into that category. When I tell you that I fell in love with the demo of this game, it ended up being my most anticipated Metroidvania of 2024. Developed by Metamorphosis Games, published by Fireshine Games and executive produced by gaming personalities Jesse Cox and Dodger, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is experienced through the eyes of Aletheia, a strong and powerful woman, an elite mercenary of the Steam City of Canaan, with a take on the art style of retro gaming we all grew to love and an all-new adventure inspired by classic Metroidvanias and action-RPGs.
Helldivers 2 No Longer Purchasable via Steam in Numerous Countries; Steam Offering Refunds
05.05.2024 - 07:09 / wccftech.com / Aernout van de Velde / Sony
Helldivers 2 is no longer purchasable via Steam in numerous countries following the news that having a PSN account will become mandatory.
As covered some days ago, PC players will soon be required to create and link a PSN account in order to keep playing Arrowhead's hit title. Although this mandatory PSN creation was already announced back in January of this year, the 'news' didn't sit too well with the community - Steam reviews have since crashed with the title racking up over 55.000 negative reviews in just a couple of hours.
Related Story Massive Sony Xperia 1 VI Leak Sheds Light on Phone’s Cameras, Battery, and the Chipset Under the Hood
Creating and linking a PSN account for PC players seems easy enough to do, but numerous countries don't have the ability to create a PSN account, making it impossible for those affected to play the game they purchased. As such, it's now no longer possible to buy the game in non-PSN countries. Affected countries include (but not limited to) Afghanistan, Albania, Netherlands Antilles, Azerbaijan, Congo, Cuba, Curacao, Egypt, Gambia, Jamaica, Morocco, Monaco, Philippines, Pakistan, Suriname, and many more. On Discord, Arrowhead community manager 'Spitz' wrote the following, after first saying that players shouldn't make such a big deal about the mandatory PSN linking.
"Yeah, I was completely unaware how many countries didn't have the ability to make a PSN account when I made that statement, Spitz wrote. "I deeply regret implying that it was so easy for everyone to just sign up and not have to worry about it. It's absolutely not our intention to force people to break Sony ToS or just not to play the game if they're in a restricted region. There needs to be a better solution."
In addition to making it impossible to purchase Helldivers 2 for non-PSN countries, Valve is now also offering refunds for the game, even for those who have played Arrowhead's shooter for more than the usual two hours.
It will be interesting to see how this matter will evolve, and whether Sony will back-pedal on the need to create and link a PSN account in order to keep playing (and buying) the game. After all, it's clear that this matter is greatly impacting game sales and community reception.
We'll update you as soon as we learn more about this matter.
Helldivers 2 is available now for PlayStation 5 and PC. The game was released back in February of this year and has been topping sales charts since its launch.
Helldivers 2 gets delisted in more countries without PSN access, blindsided devs call for it to be "available worldwide"
Helldivers 2 is still being removed from sale on Steam in more countries, even after publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) scrapped its hugely controversial PSN mandate.
Ghost Of Tsushima Director's Cut no longer available on Steam in almost 180 countries due to PSN requirement
Samurai action-adventure Ghost Of Tsushima Director's Cut is due to launch on PC this coming Thursday, May 16th - but it'll be available on Steam in nearly 180 fewer countries than expected. That's because its online features will require players to sign-in to a PSN account, and PSN accounts are not available in those countries. This is effectively the same issue that recently enraged Helldivers 2 players.
Helldivers 2 Delisting Reportedly Ordered By Sony
Helldivers 2 being delisted was ordered by Sony, according to a leaked message from Steam Support. This comes after Helldivers 2 was delisted in more than 150 countries over its proposed PSN requirements, and is still restricted in several regions after the decision was reversed.
Steam Auto-Refunds Ghost Of Tsushima Pre-Orders Over PSN Requirements
Multiple Steam users who pre-ordered Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut say that they're receiving automatic refunds. Those affected live in areas that can't access PSN, and would therefore be locked out of Ghost of Tsushima's online multiplayer mode.
Ghost of Tsushima on Steam Is Now Restricted in the Same Countries as Helldivers 2
After Helldivers 2 was removed from Steam for 177 countries following the recent PlayStation Network account-linking debacle, fans have been eagerly awaiting updates, especially after Sony reversed course on the account-linking decision. A couple updates did come in today — but not ones that fans were hoping for.
Ghost Of Tsushima PC Port Delisted In Countries Without PSN Access
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut appears to have been delisted in countries that can't access the PlayStation Network. This comes after Helldivers 2 was controversially set to force PC players to link with a PSN account to continue playing, a move that Sony eventually reversed after it was met with intense backlash and review bombing.
Helldivers 2's Terrible Steam Reviews Might Appear As In-Game Cosmetic
After the recent fiasco surrounding and Sony's attempt to make PSN account linking on Steam mandatory, the game's community is campaigning to commemorate its victory with a special cape. After days of backlash following the announcement that players on PC would need to create a PlayStation Network account to keep playing, users showed their dissatisfaction by «reviewing bombing» the game's Steam page with hundreds of thousands of negative reviews. The tactic proved effective, forcing Sony to walk back its decision while accidentally creating what could be a very cool cosmetic.
Helldivers 2 players knew how to mobilize against Sony after training in-game
Helldivers 2 players have spent their time in the galaxy since launch learning how to work together for a common cause. When the Automatons mysteriously returned to menace the galaxy, tacticians would take to X and Discord to encourage fans to hit the right planets. Super Earth asked Helldivers to kill two billion bugs, and the player base pulled it off within hours. But the biggest coordinated effort that players have pulled off is not against the bugs or bots, but against the game’s publisher, Sony — and after a weekend of protest, the Helldivers scored a massive triumph.
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.
Sony Backs Down From Mandatory Helldivers 2 PSN Account Linking
Sony has officially backed down from forcing all players on Steam to link their account to PlayStation Network after a weekend of boycotts, negative reviews, and mass refunds. Announced shortly before the launch of the game's next season, the switch from an optional to a mandatory PSN account managed to provoke the community after it was discovered that 121 countries around the world would be blocked from playing the game due to the service not being available. Fortunately, Arrowhead Studios and PlayStation have come to a solution that's satisfied the player base.
Helldivers 2 – Steam Issuing Refunds Following PSN Account Linking Backlash
Helldivers 2 has had a hell of a few days. Sony announced last week that going forward, PC players would need to link their Steam accounts with PlayStation Network in order to be able to play Arrowhead Game Studios’ mega hit, and the decision was met with instant, widespread backlash. Over the last three days, the co-op shooter has accumulated over 230,000 user reviews on Steam, with its Recent Reviews average plummeting to Overwhelmingly Negative. That has also been accompanied by many users getting refunds issued for their purchase of the game.