- Helldivers 2 players all over the world are currently taking Arrowhead to hell for its sudden change in account linking requirements.
- The situation is bad, as many Steam gamers will be forced to create a PSN account to access the game after June 4th.
- Arrowhead has since then apologized but has not really provided a clarification on how things will work.
If you’ve sat down and gone through my love letter for Helldivers 2, you already know how thankful I am for the game. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Helldivers worldwide were review-bombing it. It turns out Arrowhead is forcing Helldivers on Steam to link their copies to a mandatory PSN account. While I own a PS5 and enjoy my game there, I understand how a PC gamer can’t be bothered to do so. Is it fair? Well, let’s talk about that.
Rewinding the Clock
It all started a day ago when Arrowhead announced that Steam Helldivers were now required to link their copies to a compatible PlayStation account for a mandatory login from June 4th. Their reason? To ‘protect players from griefing and abuse.’
The logic is that toxic Steam gamers will automatically be banned on PlayStation, too, to prevent them from crossing boundaries everywhere. While the studio expected a positive response, gamers thought otherwise.
Within hours of the news, Steam Helldivers everywhere started downvoting the game. Helldivers has dropped from ‘Mostly Positive‘ to ‘Mostly Negative,’ which, if you know the game, is terribly bad news. The game has received thousands of bad reviews, making it even worse.
The community is angry, and understandably so. Besides all the negative Steam reviews, chatter is abound everywhere, with gamers flooding Arrowhead on various platforms and asking for a full refund of the game.
Forced Linking Coupled with Shady Tactics
To be very honest, I fully understand and sympathize. It makes absolutely no sense for a PC gamer to be forced to create an account they won’t even use. What makes it even worse is that while this requirement was optional, it has now become mandatory, practically forcing Helldivers. Arrowhead calls it a possible ‘inconvenience,’ but I feel it’s much worse than that.
However, the reasons for the gamer’s ire go much deeper than coercion. Many Helldivers are concerned that creating a PSN account for the game means their data will be at Sony’s mercy, which is known for having server breaches before.
To add insult to injury, Sony cheekily updated its account linking FAQs to reflect the sudden change. The company sure thought it was clever to make this change, but you can’t fool the Internet, can you? Within hours, Helldivers worldwide spotted this change and started blasting Sony.
A Mixed Apology Missing Its Mark
Seeing all the anger, Arrowhead decided to respond to Helldivers confusingly. The company’s CEO, Pilestedt, officially apologized through a post on X and promised to regain the lost trust by providing a ‘continued game experience.’
However, not everyone feels the same way. The game’s official Discord community manager, Spitz, has voiced his displeasure about gamers’ anger.
Spitz mentions that if it’s such a dealbreaker to take 120 seconds out of your day to create an account, then go ahead and change your Steam review. Spitz has since then apologized and left the official Helldivers 2 Discord server. Nonetheless, I personally think this was a bad move, as doubling down on a mistake obviously makes it worse.
Wait, What About the Unsupported Countries?
Like every other service worldwide, PlayStation isn’t exactly available everywhere. As of now, the service is officially available in 69 countries. PSN support is missing from Cambodia, Laos, Solomon Islands, Mongolia, and many others. So, umm, what are Helldivers supposed to do there?
According to Arrowhead, PSN requires users to register in their country or territory of residence. So, if you’re traveling or working abroad, you’re in luck. If not? Well, you know what to do. Or do you?
While Arrowhead can easily cry mercy and say this is just one of those corporate Sony things they are forced to do, the fact that this seemingly dropped out of nowhere makes it so much worse. This is the exact bait-and-abandon strategy gamers like me hate, and it’s almost shameful to see a game that I poured my love into doing this.
What Happens Now?
Truth be told, your guess is as good as mine. Thousands of Steam Helldivers have been left in the dark. And while I have the benefit of owning the game on PS5, I cannot help but feel cheated alongside my armored brothers.
However, if there’s one thing we can take away from the entire controversy, it’s that whether we are in-game fighting for our lives or rage typing on our keyboards, gamers stand together and die together. Fix this, Arrowhead. Now.
