Helldivers 2 CEO apologizes for Sony PSN requirement fiasco as Steam review bombing continues: “I hope we will make it up and regain the trust”
“Well, I guess it’s warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired.”
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In case you missed the news, Arrowhead Game Studios' beloved 2024 co-op shooterHelldivers 2 is in the midst of a review bombing uproaron Steam right now, with players responding angrily to PlayStation Network (PSN) account requirements that publisher Sony will soon reintroduce to the game. ThoughHelldivers 2technicallyasked PC players to link their Steam account to a PSN one when it launched in early February, that requirement was quickly withdrawn for a “grace period” to ease the strain on its servers. And since the only indication of its existence was a small (albeit highlighted) line of text onthe game’s Steam page, many players ended up buying and playing it without ever being aware of the requirement.
This led to the messy situation we find ourselves in now, withSony’s newly announced planto roll PSN link requirements back out in waves that start on May 6 and end on June 4 leaving tons of PC players feeling blindsided. Though the PlayStation maker says this is important to do “to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior,” fans are largely unsatisfied with that explanation, especially since Sony didn’t touch on what will happen to folks who don’t live in one of the 69 countries where PSN is available (lying about where you reside can result in a ban, according to Sony’s Terms of Service).
This has prompted Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead, to come forward with several statements about the situation, including anapologyfor how this whole ordeal has been handled: “Ouch, right in the review score,” he said, sharing a screenshot showing that Helldivers 2’s recent review score has dropped to “Mixed” status. “Well, I guess it’s warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!”
Earlier on Friday, Pilestedt alsowrotea short post directing players toPlayStation’s support article on using PSN accounts for PC games, which ironically made things more confusing; the article notes that signing into PSN on PC is optional, even though Sony’s new Helldivers 2 policy says that it will be mandatory for the co-op shooter. In response to that inconsistency, it’s beennotedthat Arrowhead is “discussing that question with our partners at PlayStation and trying to find a solution.” It’s also beenconfirmedthat the studio is “looking into solutions on how to get around the country drop down menu if your country isn’t listed,” which hopefully means nobody will be region-locked out of accessing the game they’ve purchased once Sony’s rule goes into effect.
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Additionally, Pilestedtexpressedhe wishes the developer had been more vocal about the requirement’s existence and the intent to eventually bring it back: I understand that linking accounts and signing up for additional services may not be something that some users would like to do and that needs to be respected," he said. “While the Steam page has always shown the requirements on the game page, I wish we had been more clear with the long term intent to not disappoint any of the divers out there.”
Something important to reiterate here is that while Arrowhead could have done more to call attention to the requirement, the decision to bring it back now was entirely Sony’s. “It’s because the decision is not ours. Nothing to with bad customer support. We don’t know,“saidThomas “Twinbeard” Petersson, one of Arrowhead’s community managers, in reply to someone in theofficial Helldivers Discord servercriticizing the developer’s lack of a clear answer for region-locking concerns. “You can always ask Sony, but until the[y] offer us a more detailed response, we’ll reply to the best of our ability with the limited info we have. Should there have been a FAQ? Yes.” The original announcement post was also written entirely by the publisher.
Frankly, this entire situationsucks, and I feel for players worried that they won’t be able to play Helldivers 2 anymore since they live in a region where PSN isn’t supported. I also feel bad for the developers at Arrowhead right now, as they’re currently unable to give fans clear answers and stuck watching the incredible game they’ve poured their hearts and souls into get raked over the coals on Steam for a decision they’re not even responsible for.
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If you ask me, some folksarebeing pretty melodramatic about the situation — there are claims that Sony is trying to sell player data or inflate PSN stats, and others are acting like making a PSN accountisn’tsomething you can do in seconds for free as long as it’s available where you live — but overall, a good amount of the backlash is understandable, and Sony could have handled this much better. Hopefully, the publisher will share more concrete information before the PSN requirement starts getting pushed next week.
Helldivers 2 is available now for $39.99 on both PS5 and PC, and so far, it’s one of thebest PC gamesof the year. Notably, the game also supports cross-platform play between PS5 and PC.
Helldivers 2 —$39.99 at GMG (Steam)Battle aliens, robots, and other beasts in humanity’s quest to spread democracy through an unforgiving galaxy. It’s 4-player co-op at its absolute best, and its most refined.
Also at:Amazon (PS5, Physical)|Walmart (PS5, Physical)
Super Citizen Edition:Amazon (PC, Digital)|GMG (Steam, PC, Digital)
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).
