"Helldivers 2": Sony waives Playstation account requirement after review bombing

"Helldivers 2" is one of the biggest surprise successes of the gaming year so far. The chaotic multiplayer shooter from the small Swedish developer studio Arrowhead is one of the most-played titles on Steam and on PS5. With ongoing updates, a fair monetisation model and transparent communication, the studio has been able to build up a loyal fanbase.

Last Friday, Sony, the game's publisher, angered many fans with an announcement. With the big May update, all PC players would have had to link their Steam accounts to a Playstation Network account. According to Sony, the game was launched without this account requirement due to "technical problems", but it had been planned from the outset. Once the problems had been resolved, this link was mandatory in order to maintain the "security values in Playstation games" and "protect players from abuse and griefing".

The unfortunate consequence of this update: "Helldivers 2" was withdrawn from Steam in 177 countries where the Playstation Network does not exist. Nevertheless, the platform gave affected players the opportunity to refund the game.

Review bombing as a response from the Community

The mandatory link to a Playstation account was noted on the game's Steam page from the outset. Nevertheless, the abrupt communication about the changeover in the May update came as a surprise to many PC players. In particular, the fact that the game was sold in countries without Playstation Network despite the Playstation account requirement angered many fans.

The response from the "Helldivers 2" community was not long in coming - and not just in the form of shitstorms on X, Reddit and other social media platforms. Within a few hours, the game had received more than 200,000 negative reviews on Steam. According to Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, the first "Helldivers" game was also affected by the excessive review bombing on Steam.

Over the weekend, Pilestedt spoke out on X and assured "Helldivers 2" fans that the development studio was "in talks with Sony" to find a satisfactory solution. However, the final decision lies with the publisher and not with him.

Sony rows back

On Monday, around three days after the announcement, Sony published a statement on X and apologised to the PC community. The May update would not be released and the mandatory linking of Steam and Playstation accounts would not be enforced. The company goes on to write: "We're still learning what's best for PC gamers, and your feedback has been invaluable."

On 16 May, Sony will release "Ghost of Tsushima", the next Playstation game on Steam. Developer studio Sucker Punch has already confirmed that a Playstation Network account will be required for the "Legends" multiplayer mode. Linking in single-player mode, on the other hand, is optional. With a linked account, it will be possible to unlock Playstation trophies and gain access to your Playstation friends list via Playstation Overlay.