Helldivers 2 forced Steam-PSN link controversy

Helldivers 2 unavailability list for Steam on May 5, 2024.

In early May 2024, a major controversy occurred in the international gaming community when the popular cooperative game Helldivers 2, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is available on Windows via Steam platform, announced that it would be requiring players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts. Since the game's launch, linking Steam accounts to PSN was optional.

The decision was met with hostility due to what the community perceived as a bait-and-switch. The controversy resulted in the game being review-bombed on Steam, as well as generating numerous videos and articles talking negatively about Sony's decision. The controversy grew when Sony delisted the game on Steam for countries not supported by the PSN, including the Philippines.

After a couple of days, Sony eventually walked back on the decision to force the PSN link. However, the game remains delisted on Steam for non-PSN countries.

• February 8, 2024: Helldivers 2 was simultaneously released on PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows via Steam. Players in countries not supported by PSN could purchase the game on Steam.
• May 3, 2024: Sony announced that the upcoming May 8 patch would require Steam players to link their accounts to PSN.
• May 5: Sony delisted the game on Steam for non-PSN countries.
• May 6: Due to massive pushback, Sony announced it would no longer require the PSN requirement for Steam players. The game, however, remains delisted on Steam for non-PSN countries.

Helldivers 2 is an online cooperative third-person shooter developed by Arrowhead Games Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released simultaneously for the PlayStation 5 and Windows through the Steam platform on February 8, 2024. The Steam version was sold in countries that are not supported by PSN, including the Philippines.

The game was a massive hit and had garnered a playerbase in the Philippines.

For PlayStation 5, the game required a PSN account as is typical of online games in the PlayStation ecosystem. On the Steam version at launch, linking the game to PSN was optional, and a warning was placed on the game's Steam store page regarding the mandatory PSN requirement in the future.

The mandatory PSN link was held off at Steam's launch due to technical issues. According to the developer's CEO and Helldivers 2's creative director, Johan Pilestedt, the studio knew 6 months before the launch that PSN would be mandatory for Sony's online games. He decided to temporarily disable it so that PC players could play at launch with PlayStation players. When asked about the decision to sell the game to countries not supported by PSN, Pilestedt stated that Arrowhead Game Studios was not responsible for the game's distribution.^[1]

On Friday, May 3, 2024, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the Steam version would soon require players to link their Steam accounts to PSN accounts.

On May 5, the game was delisted on Steam for countries not supported by PSN, including the Philippines. Both of these events were met with massive hostility from the playerbase and the gaming community.

Valve Corporation, the owner of Steam, considered the event an exception for the refund policy and allowed players to refund the game on Steam past the 2-hour play threshold.

On Monday, May 6, 2024, the official PlayStation Twitter account announced that it was reversing its decision on the mandatory PSN link. However, the game remains delisted for countries without PSN. Arrowhead Game Studios is trying to convince Sony to revert the delisting decision.

1. @Pilestedt Twitter thread on May 5, 2024. May 5, 2024 at 7:07 PM (PHT). Johan Pilestedt (@Pilestedt). Twitter. Retrieved on 2024-05-06.