Within the days since Sony Interactive Leisure introduced an unpopular Helldivers 2 and PlayStation linking coverage, gamers have been flooding the sport’s Steam web page wil unfavourable critiques. By Sunday, greater than 200,000 of Helldivers 2’s 266,126 critiques on Steam had been unfavourable, filed within the aftermath of the disastrous announcement. However the review-bombing labored: Sony heard Helldivers 2 gamers and introduced Monday that it’s not requiring Steam gamers to hyperlink a PlayStation Community account.
“Helldivers followers — we’ve heard your suggestions on the Helldivers 2 account linking replace,” Sony wrote from the PlayStation X account. “The Could 6 replace, which might have required Steam and PlayStation Community account linking for brand spanking new gamers and for present gamers starting Could 30, won’t be shifting ahead.”
Helldivers 2 sport director and Arrowhead Sport Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt added that he’s “impressed by the willpower of the Helldivers 2 neighborhood.” Over the weekend, Pilestedt, who is thought for his transparency on social media, had been updating gamers through X that Sony was in lively dialog with Arrowhead over the coverage, however that he didn’t have the ultimate say.
Firstly, I’m impressed by the willpower of the @helldivers2 neighborhood and your potential to collaborate. Secondly I wish to thank our companions and associates at @PlayStation for rapidly and successfully making the choice to go away PSN linking non-compulsory. We collectively wish to set a brand new… https://t.co/2rayksgH1v
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) Could 6, 2024
The newly enforced coverage was meant to start with a Could 6 replace, forcing all new Helldivers 2 gamers to have and join a PlayStation Community account to their Steam account. Present Helldivers 2 gamers had till Could 30 to join a PlayStation Community account after which hyperlink it. In the event that they didn’t achieve this, they’d be unable to log into Helldivers 2. (The Helldivers 2 web page has all the time had a small discover alerting gamers of the account-linking coverage, but it surely had not been enforced and, seemingly, folks simply didn’t see it.)
The neighborhood was instantly livid: Not solely was the coverage change sprung on them after they bought the sport, gamers had some official issues over creating PlayStation Community accounts. Some gamers pointed to a string of knowledge breaches that Sony’s been a sufferer of as reasoning for why they had been unwilling to make a PlayStation Community account. Others, who had been fortunately enjoying a sport they bought till not too long ago, would quickly be unable to entry Helldivers 2 resulting from Sony’s regional restrictions — there are greater than 150 international locations the place gamers are unable to create official PlayStation Community accounts. Briefly, Helldivers 2 turned unavailable on the market within the international locations unsupported by Sony.
Valve, which owns Steam, started issuing not less than some refunds to Helldivers 2 gamers forward of Sony’s Monday morning announcement. Due to the change, nonetheless, Helldivers 2 gamers can now fortunately return to restoring democracy — and, maybe, adjusting their unfavourable critiques. Although the Helldivers 2 neighborhood is celebrating the win throughout Discord and Reddit, the chaotic weekend will definitely depart a sore spot for each Arrowhead and Sony.
