Sony Reverses Decision of Mandatory PSN Account for Helldivers 2 After Negative Feedback

[AleksandarK]

On Friday, Sony announced that Helldivers 2, a 3rd person squad-based shooter from Arrowhead, will require a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for gamers to link, in addition to their Steam accounts. However, that caused quite a stir in the gaming community, especially in the form of negative reviews on Steam. Since the May 2 announcement of mandatory PSN account linking, the game received more than 200,000 negative reviews from gamers. Not only is the PSN account another layer of log-in details, but it also doesn't work in 177 countries, effectively preventing gamers from those 177 countries from purchasing and enjoying the game. Arrowhead Studios CEO and Helldivers 2 Creative Director Johan Pilestedt noted that over the weekend, there were talks with Sony about reversing the decision.

Today, we have the information that Sony has reviewed its course and that the update requiring a PSN account, planned for May 6, will not be moving forward. This means that the game is PSN-free, and gamers are able to enjoy it on their Steam accounts. It has also been reported on Reddit that some users received refunds from Steam, even when their purchase was over two months old, and they had played 120+ hours of the game. As per the GDPR, terms that are changed after the agreement is made require action from the seller. This has resulted in Steam stepping up for gamers and issuing a refund for Helldivers 2, as PSN account linking was optional upon release. Gamers have shown their collective power, and Sony has managed to reverse its decision so that no further harm is done.



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[theouto]

The fact that it took bombing this game until its review score on steam looked like that of a shoddy pc port or an unfulfilled promise from a lying developer, it does not inspire confidence in the future on this game.
I don't think people will be eager to support sony in the future.

 

[Dragokar]

It is for now, I still wait how they come out with a new plan to get people onto PSN.

 

[Dristun]

It is for now, I still wait how they come out with a new plan to get people onto PSN.

free skins and bonus xp. I think if they had done just that, half of playerbase would've already signed up without any noise whatsoever

 

[Chomiq]

This was a PR nightmare for Arrowhead and Sony. First they told people from non-PSN countries to break the PSN TOS by setting up accounts in countries that are on the supported list, then they got review bombed on Steam, delisted the game on Steam in countries that do not have PSN, only to then backtrack on the changes after the weekend? Nobody saw it coming? I wonder how many people actually refunded the game on Steam in the past few days, since Steam was granting full refunds due to changes in TOS even if people were already way past the refund window. They should have kept it the way it was setup from the start - only require PSN account if you want to have crossplay with PS5.

 

[NC37]

What's disturbing is how many death threats they allegedly got. That is inexcusable.

I really didn't care as I rarely log into PSN anyways. Haven't started my PS4 in over a year.

 

[Crackong]

Isn't it the game's all about?
Democracy !

 

[Chaitanya]

Too little and too late given many people have started to take refunds(looks like 2hr game play limit for refund has been removed).

 

[TheDeeGee]

Next game will have it baked in, so they will still have it their way eventually.

 

[Frick]

Next game will have it baked in, so they will still have it their way eventually.

And that will be fine. Requiring a PSN account to play a Sony game on PSN servers is annoying maybe but also ok if that is what the game requires from the start. The reason for the uproar is that they implemented it retroactively.

free skins and bonus xp. I think if they had done just that, half of playerbase would've already signed up without any noise whatsoever

I sort of think that is fine too (maybe not bonus XP). Get some skins though with a PSN account? Sure, whatever.

 

[Chaitanya]

Steam has pulled the game from 170 countries already:

Helldivers 2 Gets Pulled From Steam in 170 Countries

The decision is part a of new requirement to connect the game to a PSN account, even in countries where PSN is unavailable.

www.pcmag.com

 

[Onasi]

Too little too late. The damage is already done and the trust and goodwill is gone. Sony just can’t help themselves, can they? Truly, moving the management to California was a mistake. ‘Tis a cursed and silly place.

 

[Chomiq]

What's disturbing is how many death threats they allegedly got. That is inexcusable.

I really didn't care as I rarely log into PSN anyways. Haven't started my PS4 in over a year.

Yeah, nothing justifies that. Don't like it, boycott it but don't go making f'king death threats to people.

Too little too late. The damage is already done and the trust and goodwill is gone. Sony just can’t help themselves, can they? Truly, moving the management to California was a mistake. ‘Tis a cursed and silly place.

Not really, PR damage is done but people will continue to play the game because it is still a good game.

In fact:

Arrowhead's CEO:

Also, as some people already mentioned, this would have gone much smoother if they opted for something like this:

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Good to hear they listened to player feedback but rememr- dont rebuy this. They can always do it again when nobody is looking. Shame to say, the best case scenario would be HD2 withering to show what happens when you screw with the player base - you lose them permanently.

Gamers, there will be more FPS games. I know HD2 is fun, and it has a fun community and premise, but y'all really need to start standing up for your consumer rights. Don't reward sony with your money. If mroe games get utterly abandoned because of these terrible decisions said decisions will stop occurring.

hopefully the devs can get away from sony and make a spiritual successor that doesnt have this BS. Heaven-Swimmers maybe?

What's disturbing is how many death threats they allegedly got. That is inexcusable.

I really didn't care as I rarely log into PSN anyways. Haven't started my PS4 in over a year.

After two decades on the internet, you should have learned by now that "alleged death threats" mean absolutely nothing. Every group involved in anything remotely controversial goes crying to the media about "muh DEAHT threats muh FEELS". 99% of the time it is absolute BS, the remaining 1% its like 1 guy on twitter. Proof (and proof that it's been submitted to the police since it's, you know, illegal) or GTFO.

Too little too late. The damage is already done and the trust and goodwill is gone. Sony just can’t help themselves, can they? Truly, moving the management to California was a mistake. ‘Tis a cursed and silly place.

Reputations take years to build and seconds to lose. IDK what is in the water in Cali but the KGB would love to get a sample!

 

[Courier 6]

Yeah boys, you are messing with the wrong people, that´s for sure

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Like I said in the other thread here, they can say it was for the community, but I think they got in regulatory hot water, and it turned into a money-losing situation really fast. Backtracking was the only option. They would have avoided all this by making it opt-in for cross-platform saves or whatever their intent was. They needed to sell this as a benefit for their customers, but they completely fumbled it.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I wonder how impactful this will be all around to the game. I logged into the game for the first time in just over a week last night around 6pm central, there was less than 150k helldivers in the game, according to the numbers of reported players each planet in the map system was showing. I know it's not a peak playing time, but generally evening weekend hours tend to have the highest number of players. I'm curious if things will rebound or if people will be sour about it and not come back.

For myself I do have a PSN account that I setup when the PS3 came out, but I never made any actual use of the PSN. I didn't play anything online and I never purchased anything off their online store. For me to link my PSN account wouldn't have been an issue and I know the same for my brother since he's had a PS3 and PS4 and even made a lot of use of the PSN. We have zero reasons to be irritated with Sony if this was to be the route the game would have gone, but on the other hand I can understand the frustration of having to create an account 4 months after the game launched because they changed the TOS and were looking to screw people over because of it.

I got my game key for Helldivers 2 off Fanatical, only spent about $30 for it. I wouldn't be able to get a refund on it if I wanted, but be that as it may, I've put 120 hours into the game and that's a lot of playtime for only $30. I understand what I've gotten myself into with an online only game - the gameplay can be trashed, the game could just not age well, the servers could be pulled or what have you. I'm okay that 120 hours of entertainment only cost me $30. I would just know that from here on out not to put any trust into Sony and avoid future games from them. It's no sweat off my back. I've got a lot of games to play.

 

[Solaris17]

Shame to say, the best case scenario would be HD2 withering to show what happens when you screw with the player base - you lose them permanently.

I think it’s already dead. Too many people take steam reviews as the gospel (they review bombed it because of policy not gameplay)

It’s not like those 200k people will delete their reviews. It would also be up to steam to retro actively re add the game to the 170 countries it delisted from ( I wouldn’t given this amount of drama)

It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a sacrifice as is. It will never get the attention it properly deserves from anyone that didn’t follow the story because now it just looks like another bad game.

Shit I did and I don’t know anything about this series but I’ll never buy it; I don’t like the drama or the twitter play by plays by the studio it’s too much.

 

[cox]

I love the fact, that the community won this time.
But it won't be the last fight with the greed of big companies ...
Let's hope, things change for the better.

 

[Vayra86]

Isn't it the game's all about?
Democracy !

Oh damn now the penny drops. This was just a FREE LC

They just tried to do a CDPR move on us, to gain goodwill. Right!
Next they'll offer studio trips to Sony HQ to bring democracy to them too, just wait for it

never buy it; I don’t like the drama or the twitter play by plays by the studio it’s too much.

Yep. Hard pass on social media driven content. Because thats really what this and every other overhyped game is. It will float as long as the hype crowd is satisfied. Fuck that; alongside Palworld, Pokemon Go, and many other of these POS'es that never really last.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Oh damn now the penny drops. This was just a FREE LC

They just tried to do a CDPR move on us, to gain goodwill. Right!
Next they'll offer studio trips to Sony HQ to bring democracy to them too, just wait for it


Yep. Hard pass on social media driven content. Because thats really what this and every other overhyped game is. It will float as long as the hype crowd is satisfied. Fuck that; alongside Palworld, Pokemon Go, and many other of these POS'es that never really last.

Pokemon Go has (according to QnD Gsearch) 80M monthly and 21M daily active players. It was never going to sustain its early numbers, but the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

I think it’s already dead. Too many people take steam reviews as the gospel (they review bombed it because of policy not gameplay)

A bad policy affecting a game is a perfectly legitimate reason to leave a negative review. Great gameplay won't justify terrible behavior from a corporation.

It’s not like those 200k people will delete their reviews. It would also be up to steam to retro actively re add the game to the 170 countries it delisted from ( I wouldn’t given this amount of drama)

It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a sacrifice as is. It will never get the attention it properly deserves from anyone that didn’t follow the story because now it just looks like another bad game.

Shit I did and I don’t know anything about this series but I’ll never buy it; I don’t like the drama or the twitter play by plays by the studio it’s too much.

I didnt buy it because I refuse to pay more then $10 for always online games. HD2 unfortunately falls into that category.

Besides, the devs have said ""Helldivers 2 team is now building systems to replace the moderation functionality PSN linking would have enabled"". So the ban tools are still coming to the game.

 

[TechLurker]

Eh, Sony will not give up on it. They'll definitely end up doing some kind of juicy bonus exclusive to PSN accounts, probably not only exclusive cosmetics, but maybe a special set of weapons/equipment (possibly hidden under the guise of a collab with another Sony-exclusive) and a bonus XP period. Maybe even repeat what they did with Destiny in the D1 years; a regular set of exclusives every few months before they finally show up for the masses later on. And in fact, it would work even better for HD2 since the devs are churning out new content with each Season Pass, and could accommodate an extra skin and special weapon/equipment for Sony. Sure, the majority will be cosmetic, but FOMO and special weapons/abilities would be plenty enough to make people sign up for a PSN account if possible, while those who can't just have to wait until the former exclusives get featured as part of a future Season pass or shop item some time later.

pass on social media driven content. Because thats really what this and every other overhyped game is. It will float as long as the hype crowd is satisfied. Fuck that; alongside Palworld, Pokemon Go, and many other of these POS'es that never really last.

Eh for what it's worth, Palworld's still doing fine, better than AAA flops like Suicide Squad, still maintaining an average of 44k players with occasional surges after each update, so even lapsed players are definitely following along and checking in. Sure, it's lost its initial player count, but that's normal for most games, and the devs are at least active in working to improve the game while still meme'ing a bit with the fans.

HD2 also capitalizes on active player engagement via in-game messages and SM posts, and despite this setback, will not affect anything in the long run. There just isn't another game where the devs directly interact with the playerbase at the same level, almost in real-time via continuous manipulation of in-game events.

 

[Vayra86]

Too little too late. The damage is already done and the trust and goodwill is gone. Sony just can’t help themselves, can they? Truly, moving the management to California was a mistake. ‘Tis a cursed and silly place.

Sony... Blizzard... EA.... Ubisoft... Bethesda...

I don't know about you but I'm spotting not just a trend, but a pattern. This ain't California. Its a generation of boomer executives fed by MBA young professionals that think they know everything and can make anything happen. You don't speak up against this, you want to move up in the world so you're executing the strategy.

And the gamer will execute them. More of this please. Its funny as hell, and my must buy list keeps getting shorter. Soon I'll be a millionaire at this rate.

I've said earlier this week elsewhere... some circle jerks of people have grown so disconnected with the world, they can't even help themselves anymore. This is how the corrections in our societies happen. Escalation gets so bad, even the least sane of people will see the idiocy and get their reality check, even if its long overdue.

I'll never forget that one punchline. 'Don't you guys have phones'. This is Sony's version of it, even if they turned on this issue, the event is marked and the successful resistance will be remembered. Now we can wait for their Diablo 4, where they'll probably prove they really don't like us at all.

 

[Hakker]

Yeah, nothing justifies that. Don't like it, boycott it but don't go making f'king death threats to people.

Not really, PR damage is done but people will continue to play the game because it is still a good game.

In fact:
View attachment 346423
View attachment 346421
Arrowhead's CEO:
View attachment 346424
View attachment 346422

Also, as some people already mentioned, this would have gone much smoother if they opted for something like this:
View attachment 346420

Pilestedts excuses are so funny. You cannot add requirements after you signed a deal. You can ask for it not demand it. Damn man even every trekkie knows a deal is a deal It's the 16th rule of acquisition