Helldivers 2, a co-op shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, faced criticism from the community after announcing a policy change. The change required players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network, which was met with disapproval, especially from players in countries where PSN is not available. As a result, these players would be unable to access the game if the policy was implemented. This led to players expressing their dissatisfaction through review bombing, impacting Helldivers and other games Arrowhead developed.
Update: We got news that the Community Manager took the same role as the CEO, making sure that the company wasn’t blamed for this decision. He asked players to refund, review the bomb, and blame Sony for it. He apparently almost lost his job but they won in the end.
If you were paying attention at all to the controversy over the past week, you’d have seen how things escalated. Johan Pilestedt, CEO and game director at Arrowhead, tried to explain things more on X (formerly Twitter), and it helped. He acknowledged that players were unhappy and stated that the team was working with PlayStation to resolve the issues. Pilestedt also expressed his support for his team, mentioning that they felt discouraged due to criticism of their previous games and negative reviews.
We reported on this controversy, as it was pretty heavy. Despite trying their best, the negative trend continued. Pilestedt took responsibility, admitting that the studio hadn’t clearly communicated the PSN requirement. He also explained that temporarily disabling account linking at the outset was meant to reduce pressure on the servers. Pilestedt acknowledged some of his own responsibility while stressing that he didn’t have the final say on the platform’s policies.
Ultimately, the community’s uproar prompted Sony to take action. PlayStation revealed a reversal of the contentious update, which would have required Helldivers 2 players to connect their accounts. The company stated that the decision was made in response to player input to find the optimal solution for PC gamers.
In the aftermath, Pilestedt took to Twitter to praise the Helldivers 2 community for their organization and effective communication. He also thanked PlayStation for their quick response. It’s a happy ending for players, and hopefully, this means Xbox might join in on the fun soon.
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