The Helldivers 2 drama is over, and balance has been restored, kind of. At least, Sony has announced that it’ll be rescinding its unpopular decision to force players to link their Steam accounts to PSN IDs.
The game’s Steam page is still filled with a ton of negative reviews, but it’s that and the widespread unrest and pushback on social media that caused Sony to back off from this mandatory requirement. And, at the end of this drama, Arrowhead’s CEO, Johan Pilestedt, has something to tell players.
Helldivers 2 CEO Praises the Community’s Show of Unity
Following the PlayStation X/Twitter account’s official announcement that the requirement change would not be going forward, Pilested immediately took the opportunity to announce it to the community.
Firstly, I am impressed by the willpower of the @helldivers2 community and your ability to collaborate. Secondly I want to thank our partners and friends at @PlayStation for quickly and effectively making the decision to leave PSN linking optional. We together want to set a new… https://t.co/2rayksgH1v
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 6, 2024
He starts by stating that he’s impressed with the way the community came together and the “willpower” they’ve been displaying over the past few days.
He goes on to thank the staff at PlayStation for reversing the decision and making it optional to link your PSN to your Steam.
Pilestedt’s love for the community once again is on display, and it feels like things are back to business as usual. Well, not exactly; there’s still some work left to be done, as the remnants of the community’s willpower are still evident on the game’s Steam page.
Helldivers 2 Steam Reviews Take a Divebomb
From raving reviews, the game’s Steam page has gone for a complete toss, with its recent reviews being categorized as “Mostly Negative” by the platform and “Mixed” overall. Just a little over half of the 561k are positive, with the rest marked negative.
It’s Not PlayStation, Arrowhead, or the Players, but the Helldivers 2 Controversy Does Have 1 Winner
The review bomb was part of the community’s strategy to get Sony to hear their pleas. Helldivers‘ community manager Spitz encouraged players through the official Discord to do the same, explaining that it gave Arrowhead’s team leverage in its discussion with Sony.
Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by the players. Under Pilestedt’s tweet, many players called for the rest of the community to change their reviews back to something positive.
yall better get to switching those negative reviews back to positive!
the game itself doesn't deserve the negativity, especially now.
— 🏴☠️Nasdorachi🏴☠️ (@Nasdorachi) May 6, 2024
Some people also felt that Arrowhead’s community managers for the game had to be replaced, claiming instances of “extremely toxic” behavior from some of them.
Glad you guys fought for the gamers…but you might want to look into hiring some new community managers. The behaviors I’ve seen from some of them have been extremely toxic.
It’s not a good look for the brand.
— MasteroftheTDS (@MasteroftheTDS) May 6, 2024
There have been multiple instances of issues with the Arrowhead staff, but this is mostly likely referencing the recent issue with Spitz firing off at players who were complaining about the mandatory requirement that Sony was attempting to enforce.
Spitz ended up apologizing later, but some players may not have felt that it was enough.
What do you think about the whole issue that went down with Sony and the Helldivers 2 community? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
