Helldivers 2 players are used to winning by shows of overwhelming force, but even they were likely taken back by Sony’s decision to relent on the previously returning requirement for Steam players to link their account to the PlayStation Network by June in order to continue playing the co-op shooter.
“The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward,” the post confirms. “We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.”
The announcement ends a weekend-long campaign of fury by players against Sony after it announced the returning demand for account linking last Thursday evening, itself being a previously required need to play that was relaxed by developer Arrowhead after H2’s popularity exploded and the game servers buckled.
There followed a huge wash of backlash as PC players made presumptions of what Sony was doing with their data, repeatedly called out Sony’s spotty security history, and pointed out how multiple countries that had access to the game on Steam would suddenly lose out of playing what they paid for because of PSN’s comparatively meager reach. Arrowhead took the brunt of the rage in the form of swarming angry messages on Discord and a three day-long review bombing on Steam, though Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt admitted his own fault in the debacle.
Pilestedt was quick to thank fans and Sony for the decision and also pointed out how the negative Steam review bars would make a neat in-game cape.
At the time of this writing, SteamDB isn’t showing the game’s return to over 100 territories that it was delisted from last Saturday. Regardless, players are claiming victory in the Discord and on Reddit, where players are now mobilizing to turn negative reviews into positive ones. One fan even stitched a patch to commemorate the whole affair.
Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.
We’re still…
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024
