Players of the popular multiplayer game Helldivers 2 were initially outraged when Sony announced that PC players would be required to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. This decision led to a significant backlash, with over 14,000 negative reviews flooding in on Steam shortly after the news broke. The number of negative reviews continued to increase, reaching over 200,000 in just two days, ultimately tanking the game’s rating from “overwhelmingly positive” to “overwhelmingly negative.” The backlash also extended to the original Helldivers game, which received negative reviews as well.
The negative reviews and backlash prompted one of Helldivers 2’s community managers, Spitz, to encourage players to voice their displeasure through Steam reviews and refund requests. This tactic ultimately led to Sony reversing their decision, no longer requiring PC players to link to a PSN account. The delisting of the game in 177 countries where PSN was not available also caused concern, as players in those regions would lose access to a game they had paid for. However, with the decision reversed, the game has been restored in those countries and players are slowly updating their negative reviews as the situation is resolved.
The initial decision to require PC players to link their accounts was attributed to the unstable launch of Helldivers 2, which forced the developers to delay the implementation of the requirement. Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt admitted that there were internal discussions with PlayStation about the potential backlash from fans regarding the linking requirement. Despite this, the decision was made to re-enable the requirement at the behest of PlayStation to assist with moderation, even in the face of anticipated backlash from players.
As the situation with the PSN linking requirement has been resolved, Pilestedt expressed his gratitude to fans for their support and thanked PlayStation for swiftly resolving the matter. The game’s rating on Steam has begun to shift from “overwhelmingly negative” to a “mixed” rating as positive reviews start to outweigh the negative ones. Pilestedt even shared a lighthearted moment by showcasing a graphic created by a community member that turned the game’s negative review graph into a design for the in-game capes worn by players. The incident serves as a lesson in the power of player backlash and the importance of listening to and addressing player concerns promptly.