Arrowhead Urges ‘Helldivers 2’ Gamers to Amend Reviews Negatively Due to PSN Linking
Arrowhead Urges ‘Helldivers 2’ Gamers to Amend Reviews Negatively Due to PSN Linking
The Helldivers 2 community finds itself engulfed in turmoil following Sony’s recent mandate requiring PC players to link their Steam accounts to a PSN account to continue playing, effective within a month. Arrowhead, the developer behind Helldivers 2, is increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with this decision, displaying little attempt to conceal their frustration.
Community manager Spitz faced backlash yesterday for appearing to react sharply to a player regarding the issue, suggesting they simply switch their review to negative and move forward. While Spitz is now dialing back his tone, he maintains the seriousness of his suggestion. According to him, altering your Steam review to negative is a genuine way to voice discontent to Sony. Here’s Spitz’s statement:
“I want people to make their displeasure known in a place where it might actually make a difference, Steam reviews and refund requests will do that, angry posting in the Discord won’t. I’m not happy about this decision either.”
Subsequently, Spitz reiterated, “My advice to individuals to switch their reviews to negative was entirely sincere… Emotions are running high, understandably, as many won’t have access to the game anymore. It’s disheartening.”
These sentiments mirror those of CEO Johan Pilestedt, who has been discussing the surge of negative Steam reviews, now resulting in the game’s score shifting to “mixed.” Pilestedt expressed disappointment but acknowledged the reasons behind such actions.
He further emphasizes their commitment to leveraging “the only tool at their disposal,” which is crafting an exceptional game, while reiterating that the responsibility for this situation lies squarely with Sony.
In a recent development, Sony is facing criticism for altering the wording on its PSN linking page. Initially described as “optional,” it now states that “some PlayStation games may require you to sign in and link to an account for PSN.” This alteration occurred within the past 24 hours.
Opinions among players and observers remain divided on the matter. Some argue that linking accounts is standard practice, citing examples like Ubisoft, EA, or Microsoft. However, the crux of the issue lies in the potential exclusion of players from numerous countries without access to PSN, despite having already purchased the game. This requirement, introduced after the game’s launch, has left Arrowhead uncertain about the fate of these players, as Sony has provided little clarity.
While the necessity of the requirement is up for debate, Sony’s handling and communication of the situation have undeniably led to chaos, straining relations with the game developer behind one of their most successful titles in recent years. Whether Sony will backtrack or proceed remains uncertain, but for many, the harm has already been inflicted.
