There’s a lot of vitriol being thrown at the team of Helldivers 2, and we can’t imagine they didn’t expect it coming. Sony’s recent announcement about linking Steam accounts to PlayStation Network accounts to play the game has left the community not only divided but scrambling to find a solution.
In the eye of this storm is Johan Pilestedt, the CEO at Arrowhead Game Studios and creative director of Helldivers 2. As the leader of the company, he will ultimately receive the greatest degree of criticism. While many would decide to lie low, the CEO has adopted a more straightforward approach.
Johan Pilestedt of Helldivers 2 Accepts His Faults in Account Linking Debacle
It’s not uncommon for leaders and CEOs to keep a low profile when things get dicey. It helps to avoid any statements that could further worsen the situation and also quickens the process of the audience forgetting their anger. However, it’s not the best option and always looks bad on the image of the company and the person.
I do have a part to play. I am not blameless in all of this – it was my decision to disable account linking at launch so that players could play the game. I did not ensure players were aware of the requirement and we didn't talk about it enough.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 5, 2024
We knew for about 6 months before…
Johan Pilestedt has been forthcoming regarding his missteps in this entire incident. Community manager Spitz had previously revealed that Sony required the accounts to be linked to facilitate quicker bans. Now, we know the team was aware of this requirement six months before the game even launched!
Pilestedt admits he decided to skip the mandatory linking of accounts at launch so people could play the game. He also admits the team should have been more outspoken about the requirement being inevitable. The issue here to consider is some countries do not have PlayStation Network, which means even those willing to link accounts can’t do so.
Some people found this confusing. One asked if Arrowhead was aware of the requirement to link PSN accounts, then why would the game be sold in countries that do not support the service? To this, Pilestedt simply stated that the selling of the game was not handled by the studio.
Hope May Exist on the Horizon for Helldivers 2 Players
The situation appears dire for the community, and the end of the grace period is fast approaching. However, there may be some hope we can cling to. Spitz has revealed the decision was not well-received by the dev team either, and they are working on an alternate method for players in countries without access to PSN.
Hopefully, they will be able to initiate the alternate method soon, as some people are getting banned for trying to link accounts by using a VPN. The grace period to play the game without the link is May 6, so there’s not a lot of time left. This is going to affect the daily concurrent players in the game.
Some gamers are not interested in waiting for a fix and are demanding refunds for their titles. Others have taken to review bombing the game’s Steam page, and now the average is heavily skewed towards a negative sentiment. Whatever fix Arrowhead is planning to implement, it can’t come soon enough.
Do you think Pilestedt has handled the incident well? Let us know what you think could have been done differently in the comments below.
