A new Helldivers 2 patch is here and will hopefully put the whole PlayStation Network account linking debacle to bed once and for all, as it's now been added as an explicitly "optional" setting.
04.05.2024 - 13:19 / wccftech.com / Alessio Palumbo / Johan Pilestedt
Following the news that Helldivers 2 on PC will soon require a PlayStation Network account to play, the community reacted by review bombing the Steam page. Whereas the game previously enjoyed a Very Positive aggregate user score, it has now dropped to Mixed for overall reviews and Mostly Negative for recent reviews. In the span of a few hours, over 57K negative reviews have been left for Helldivers 2 on Steam.
This is, of course, far from unexpected. PC games have long since suffered from review bombing on Steam, with notable examples like Total War: Rome II, Monster Hunter World, Overwatch 2, and Diablo IV. Valve even had to introduce features that help users make sense of such instances.
However, as we mentioned in yesterday's report, Sony did say from the beginning that Helldivers 2 would require a PSN account, even if they didn't act on it right away. What's the outrage all about, then?
Well, as it turns out, the main issue is that the PlayStation Network is only available in 69 countries, whereas Steam's global reach is much wider. This means a lot of customers who purchased the game might find themselves locked out of the ability to play unless they are willing to register as gamers from another country, which comes with its own risks of a ban from the PSN. Helldivers 2 Game Director and Arrowhead boss Johan Pilestedt has acknowledged the issue via his Twitter account.
Ouch, right in the review score
A new Helldivers 2 patch is here and will hopefully put the whole PlayStation Network account linking debacle to bed once and for all, as it's now been added as an explicitly "optional" setting.
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released the Polar Patriots Premium Warbond as planned after the boss of the studio polled fans on whether it should go ahead so soon after what he called “negative sentiment” over the game’s PlayStation Network account linking.
Helldivers 2 Community Manager 'Spitz' is seemingly no longer with Arrowhead Game Studios following outings he did over the now-canceled mandatory PSN account linking update.
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.
User reviews for the Steam version of Helldivers 2 have been seeing a huge turnaround, as fans change their negative ratings to positive ones.
Being a Helldivers 2 fan has been an absolute rollercoaster over this past weekend, with the game being the most loved live service game out there, to the most hated, and back again over the course of just a few days. Most of you will know that this was down to Sony's sudden implementation of its PSN account system, requiring Helldivers 2 players on Steam to sign up for the PlayStation Network if they want to continue playing.
With the PSN account linking fiasco now in the rearview mirror, what was nearly a disaster moment for Helldivers 2 is now becoming a part of community lore. Fans have been busy working on cape designs since Sony reversed course, at least some of which have seemingly caught the eye of the development team.
Helldivers 2 has been a huge hit this yea,r with a consistent player base since its launch in February and a peak of over 450,000 players. Fighting for Super Earth, players have been waging war against monstrous insects and deadly robots and laying down their lives for democracy. But the game’s reputation took a hit recently when it was announced that PC players would have to register for a PlayStation Network account to continue playing the game — a move that would have left players in parts of the world with no PSN support high and dry.
After several days of player outcry, pushback, and extensive review bombing, Sony has backed down from its demand that Helldivers 2 players be required to link a PSN account on PC if they wanted to continue playing.
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.
After the backlash and subsequent U-turn on Helldivers 2 requiring players to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account, the next PlayStation flagship headed to PC has sought to reassure players that you won’t need a PSN account to play its single-player campaign. Multiplayer’s a different case, though.
Sony has reversed a decision that would have required Helldivers 2 players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network accounts.