Helldivers 2 to Require PSN Account on Steam; Players Outraged About the Requirement

Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed Helldivers 2 on Steam will require a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to access starting May 6 for new players, and May 30 for current players.

The announcement was made with an explanation that this was always an issue, and the reasons behind the need.

Attention Helldivers,

Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS™ 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post. 

Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games. This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behaviour. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal. 

As such, as of May 6th, all new HELLDIVERS 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Current players on Steam will start to see the mandatory login from May 30th and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4th. PlayStation Network accounts are free and easy to set up using this link
https://www.playstation.com/support/account/create-account-for-psn/ 

We understand that while this may be an inconvenience to some of you, this step will help us to continue to build a community that you are all proud to be a part of.

Many thanks for your continued support of HELLDIVERS 2! 

Sony Interactive Entertainment 

Steam Listing

While I recall reading this was an issue among the myriad of launch bugs, I couldn’t find a specific source. However, various posts before/around the time of launch confirm this was something players were aware of.

Regardless of whether players knew about this requirement, the overall reaction is extremely negative. The announcement post currently received 711 comments before disabling them, completed with zero thumbs up points.

By contrast the latest Warbond, Polar Patriots, was formally revealed just before the announcement with over 7,500 thumbs up. In addition to these posts, a number of players have revised their reviews of Helldivers 2.

When I started this article the reception went from positive to mixed, which will likely continue to go down. Most reviews touch on disliking the policy, not purchasing Helldivers 2 had they known, or frustrations about PSN policies.

The latter is one of the biggest points of frustration for certain players. Right now there are people in a number of counties that don’t have access to PSN. Since making an account in another region violates the terms of service, there is an internal struggle of chancing it, or simply trying to get a refund from Steam.

In response to this, Arrowhead Community Manager, Thomas Petersson, offered the following comment on Discord.

First of all, it’s Sonys decision, not ours. Secondly, we don’t have all the details about region related issues yet. We’re chasing Sony to get more info.

Twinbeard via Discord

At the time of posting Sony, or Arrowhead have not made a statement on the ongoing concerns, but we will update if/when one is made.