Sony Might Be Pondering a Helldivers 2 Xbox Port

Amid the ongoing Helldivers 2 controversy, Sony has made a small but crucial change to the PlayStation Network's FAQs. While Helldivers 2 has been an enormous success in its initial launch period, some gamers have been less than pleased by developer Arrowhead Game Studios and publisher Sony over the last couple of days.

As Helldivers 2 endures thousands of negative Steam user reviews prompted by mandatory PlayStation Network account linking, community managers from developer Arrowhead have been rushing around handing out context and clarification to disgruntled players. A key point comes from community manager Twinbeard on Discord: "It's Sony's decision, not ours."

Helldivers 2 is about to actually start enforcing its previously stated requirement for players on Steam to sign in with a PlayStation account, and to put it mildly, the community isn't taking it well. After 20,000 negative reviews in less than 24 hours, the game's developers say they get why players are upset.

This article contains potential spoilers for Helldivers 2's story.

Sony has sparked a backlash after announcing plans to force Helldivers 2 Steam players to connect to a PlayStation Network account.

This author thought Helldivers 2 was going to be a colossal flop, so it just goes to show how unpredictable this industry can be. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, it currently sits behind a trio of Spider-Man titles, a couple of God of War games, and Ghost of Tsushima as Sony’s seventh highest grossing game in the United States to date. It’s been out less than three months, and isn’t even being sold at full-price.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Studios has addressed recent community uproar concerning changes to the game's ricochet mechanics. Following the 01.000.300 patch for Helldivers 2, players reported an increased frequency of deaths caused by ricocheting projectiles, even from explosives like rockets.

Helldivers 2's Stalker enemies have reportedly gained a mutation with the game's latest update, which allows them to cloak their bodies entirely and sneak up on players. Helldivers 2 released an update several days ago, making numerous balance changes that could shake up the meta. It brought nerfs to some weapons, including the JAR-5 Dominator and the RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher. In addition, the update buffed Automaton enemies, such as Scout Striders and Devastators, slightly increasing their fire rate and durability.

While Dragon’s Dogma 2 topped US software charts for March 2024 per Circana’s Matt Piscatella, Helldivers 2 wasn’t far behind. It ranked in second place and is still the best-selling premium title of the year to date. Furthermore, it’s the seventh best-selling title (in terms of lifetime dollar sales) published by Sony, despite only being on sale for two months.

Some Helldivers 2 players are unhappy with the bullet ricochet changes implemented with Update 01.000.300. Patch days have always been somewhat contentious within the Helldivers 2 community, often because of the introduced balance changes included with the patch along with the wave of bug reports that follow in the wake of every update. Its latest patch was, unfortunately, no exception to the established pattern, and many players have since flocked to social media to call for a quick fix to what appears to be a problem with the game's ricochet mechanic.

The latest Helldivers 2 leak shows a plasma pistol that will reportedly be available in the future. Over the past months, Helldivers 2 players have been treated to leaks that revealed details about the upcoming content. Recently, one provided a sneak peek into new Illuminate enemies, while another showed a new off-road vehicle that Arrowhead could add to its over-the-shoulder game in the future.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has just released patch 01.000.300 addressing various aspects, including weapons, stratagems, enemies, and missions. This update aims to enhance the gameplay and address community feedback. The long patch notes cover several weapon buffs, damage balancing, increased level cap and more. The update also added new planetary hazards in Helldivers 2.