Helldivers 2’s success can be credited to many things. Exciting gameplay, live service done right, a supportive community, and so much more. However, it may be hard to believe that not all of the promotion for this was done by humans, and there was a good amount of ‘bot involvement‘ during the game’s early days.
Recently, due to a compulsory requirement for users to link their PS accounts, the game has been receiving a lot of criticism. Ironically, these negative opinions too have been sidetracked by bots, giving the game a chance at bettering its image in the coming days.
Bots Are AllegedlyTrying to Change the Narrative Around the Game’s Recent Controversy
An in-depth and careful analysis by MasteroftheTDS on Twitter has led to the unveiling of a lot of potentially shady practices. Turns out that the very behavior during Helldivers 2’s early days has been resurfacing, but with a new purpose in mind.
Reportedly, several bot accounts have now started sugarcoating the entire controversy around the PS account linking, and there’s an attempt to shift the narrative in favor of the players. But, is it going to work? That’s something time will tell, but it won’t be easy to make players forget the inconvenience and forced
Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, is facing backlash as Sony mandates that PC players link their Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account, a feature that was previously optional.
— MasteroftheTDS (@MasteroftheTDS) May 3, 2024
This move has sparked controversy, with many players expressing concerns… pic.twitter.com/OQ90x9qHkS
This tweet mentions how throughout Helldivers 2’s life cycle so far, bots have managed to promote everything regarding seasonal updates, quality-of-life changes, and so on. Depending on how things unfold in the coming days, it won’t be surprising to see more bots tweet out information regarding the same.
The Irony of Real-Life Bots Resembling Automatons From Helldivers 2
It’s too soon to assume that this controversy will affect the quality of the game in the long run. After all, this has little to do with the game itself. However, quality of life changes that severely impact how players experience a game, and having to unnecessarily go through several steps before being able to jump into the game can harm the experience.
This has been reflected in the game’s review scores on Steam, too, and Johan Pilestedt is well aware of this. No matter how great a live-service game is, if the experience around it isn’t enriching, players won’t hold back from voicing their opinions. For instance, user Piedra on Twitter comments their thoughts on this narrative.
the new helldivers expansion is incredible, you stop playing against automatons and start playing against big corp and botnets.
— Piedra (@piedraprog) May 3, 2024
It’ll take a bit to see how Arrowhead plans on re-shaping and growing this narrative in a healthy well. It’s unfortunate to see something like this affect the overall experience, when Helldivers 2 happens to be one of the few live-service games that has set a strong example of a game that maintains a great standard for quality.
Ouch, right in the review score 😢🤕
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 3, 2024
Well, I guess it's warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience.
I just want to make great games! pic.twitter.com/EPO7apDUlc
Do you think this controversy affects the game in the long run? How do you feel about Helldivers 2 asking players to connect their PS accounts? Let us know in the comments below.
