To say it’s been a tumultuous 72 hours for Arrowhead Game Studios is an understatement. Only a few days ago, the studio announced that PC players would have to link their accounts to the PlayStation Network. But now, Sony has reversed course.
Democracy has been Maintained
Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.
We’re still…
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024
Sony just released a tweet confirming that the mandatory Helldivers 2 PSN account linking will not move forward. No doubt this was a reaction to the immense boycott and review bombing on Steam that dragged down Helldivers 2 user reviews. In fact, recent reviews of the game reached overwhelmingly negative in just a couple of days. Though as of writing, Helldivers 2 is back to mostly negative recent reviews.
Had the Helldivers 2 PSN linking mandate gone through, this would have essentially removed the game from over 100 countries where PSN is not available. As a premtive measure, Steam has already refunded the game to customers, despite surpassing the 2-hour play time threshold.
Thoughts on the Helldivers 2 PSN Mandate Debacle
No doubt gamers have shown their anger and vehemently campaigned against the Helldivers 2 PSN linking mandate. From boycotts to review bombing, the community-led endeavor led to results. Its swift reversal shows that stirring up a hornet’s nest can work in the online world. However, I do not believe in the slightest that gamers have seen the end of it.
Sony is still new to the PC space and will undoubtedly take the Helldivers 2 PSN account linking as a learning experience. There are growing pains to entering the PC space and the higher-ups at Sony are taking notes. Expect PSN to roll out to more countries before Sony tries to reinstate the PSN account-linking mandate. That is because Sony, like Microsoft and Tencent before them, has tapped out of traditional growth metrics to showcase to shareholders.
One of the more recent popular metrics is Monthly Active Users. With so many media formats competing for our time and money, it’s no surprise to see that MAU figures have become so sought after. Sony will want to capitalize on their increasing PC presence with a nice bump in their MAUs. Helldivers, democracy has prevailed, for now.
