Gamers Rejoice – Sony Backtracks on controversial Helldivers 2 PSN plans
PlayStation halts controversial Helldivers 2 update that would force PSN account integration
Last weekend, Sony caused a revolt within the PC gaming community. They announced that PSN account integration would soon be mandatory for Helldivers 2 players on PC, and was not a popular move. For starters, a PlayStation Network (PSN) account was not required before.
To make matters worse, this move removed Helldivers 2 from sale on PC in 177 countries and territories. In these places the PlayStation Network is not available to gamers. As such, Helldivers 2 would become unplayable for gamers in those regions without a VPN. Yes, PSN integration would make the Helldiver 2 unplayable for many existing owners of the game…
Thankfully, Sony has confirmed that their forced PlayStation Network integration plans for Helldivers 2 “will not be moving forward”. In Twitter/X, confirmed that their change in course has come thanks to player feedback. Sony saw the response of PC gamers and have reversed course. PC gamers have won!
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
While PSN integration feels like a small thing, making it mandatory was a terrible move from Sony. For starters, PC gamers don’t want to create a new account for a single game. Adding this mandatory integration was always going to anger gamers, after all, Helldivers 2 worked great without out. The fact that this change forced Helldivers 2 to be removed from Steam within many global regions made the change all the more disappointing. This change would effectively strip access to Helldivers 2 away from many owners of the game. That’s not acceptable, and I am glad that Sony has now changed course.
PSN account integration will remain as an optional feature for Helldivers 2. Hopefully Sony will learn from this mistake and not try this again in the future.
You can join the discussion on Sony reversing course on Helldivers 2’s mandatory PSN integration plans on the OC3D Forums.
