Sony backtracks on Helldivers 2 PC PSN requirement – May 6th update cancelled

Sony's online PSN service is growing year-on-year at the moment, as 118 million monthly active users for the Q4 period of fiscal year 2023 represents an increase of 10 million compared to Q4 FY2022. The result beats all totals in the past fiscal year, with the only blemish on the record being it could have been even better for Sony. In Q3 of FY2023, it had 123 million active users, meaning it lost five million active members between individual quarters.

Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead is still struggling to catch up to the intense pressure that comes with releasing such a wildly, unexpectedly successful game - and now they're also dealing with internal delays caused by the recent PSN-linking kerfuffle.

Steam and other digital games storefronts are reportedly cancelling pre-orders for the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut and refunding players in countries where PlayStation Network is not officially available. The game comes with PSN support on PC and will give players the option to use a new PlayStation overlay that essentially brings the PS5 interface to PC, along with support for Trophies and more. Ghost of Tsushima has reportedly been delisted from storefronts in over 170 non-PSN countries.

The Helldivers 2 PSN debacle might be over, but a similar requirement is restricting access to Ghost of Tsushima's PC port in over 170 territories. 

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 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 Sony U-turned on its controversial decision to force Helldivers 2 PC gamers to account link to PlayStation Network, the game’s community has launched an initiative to drag Steam user reviews out from under rock bottom.

The community has issued its own major order to help clean up the mass review bombing that the game has received recently. 's review scores plummeted on Steam following the announcement that players would have to link their accounts to the PlayStation Network to continue, something that some were reluctant to do, and also prevented entire regions from accessing the game.

Helldivers 2’s first patch since the PSN login debacle is out now, making some much-needed fixes to the game.

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.

In the days since Sony Interactive Entertainment announced an unpopular Helldivers 2 and PlayStation linking policy, players have been flooding the game’s Steam page wil negative reviews. By Sunday, more than 200,000 of Helldivers 2’s 266,126 reviews on Steam were negative, filed in the aftermath of the disastrous announcement. But the review-bombing worked: Sony heard Helldivers 2 players and announced Monday that it’s no longer requiring Steam players to link a PlayStation Network account.