Following
the
massive
backlash
that
occurred
just
days
ago,
Helldivers
2
has
now
been
removed
from
sale
in
approximately
176
regions
around
the
world.

On
Friday,

Sony
announced
that
all
players
would
require
a
PlayStation
Network
account
linked
to
their
Steam
account
to
play
Helldivers
2
on
PC.
While
this
was
technically
already
mandatory
and
was
marked
on
the
game’s
store
page
months
prior
to
launch,
it
was
made
optional
at
launch
owing
to
technical
issues,
meaning
people
can
play
for
months
without
needing
a
PSN
account.

Arrowhead,
the
developer
of
the
game,
has
made
it
abundantly
clear
through
Discord,
Twitter/X
and
other
social
media
accounts
that
reactivating
the
requirement
was
not
their
call.
However,
Arrowhead’s
CEO
does
take
responsibility,
admitting
that
it
was
his
decision
to
disable
the
requirement
at
launch
so
that
people
could
play
properly
and
could
have
done
more
to
make
people
aware.

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.

We
knew
for
about
6
months
before…

—
Pilestedt
(@Pilestedt)

May
5,
2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The
community
response
has
been
overwhelmingly
negative,
including
the
game
receiving
hundreds
of
thousands
of
negative
reviews
on
Steam
which
has
changed
its
overall
rating
to
mixed.
Despite
this,
the
actual
player
numbers
have
remained
steady,
but
that
may
change
when
the
PSN
requirement
comes
into
full
effect.

There
are
various
reasons
for
the
backlash,
from
general
annoyance
at
having
to
create
another
account
to
concerns
surrounding
data
safety.
But
one
of
the
biggest
causes
of
worry
is
that
PSN
is
only
available
in
a
relatively
small
selection
of
69
countries
worldwide,
considerably
fewer
than
the
regions
in
which
Helldivers
2
has
been
sold.
The
only
way
to
access
PSN
in
those
countries
is
to
use
a
VPN
and
provide
false
information,
both
of
which
can
get
you
banned.

In
short,
anyone
who
has
bought
and
played
the
game
outside
of
the
69
countries
where
PSN
can
be
accessed
will
find
themselves
locked
out
of
Helldivers
2.

It’s
unclear
whether
Sony
or
even
Steam
have
taken
this
step,
but
Helldivers
2
has
been
delisted
from
approximately
176
regions,
all
of
which
do
not
have
access
to
the
PlayStation
Network.
Of
course,
it
goes
without
saying
that
this
should
have
been
done
since
day
1
because
while
Helldivers
2
did
clearly
list
a
PSN
account
as
a
requirement,
it
was
still
sold
in
regions
that
could
not
legally
access
the
PlayStation
Network.

We
can
at
least
rule
out
Arrowhead
as
the
reason
for
the
change,
because
in
replying
to
another
X
user
who
asked
why
they
sold
the
game
in
regions
where
PSN
is
inaccessible,
Arrowhead’s
CEO
stated
that,
“We
do
not
handle
selling
the
game.”

It
would
seem
the
most
likely
culprit
is
Sony
themselves,
perhaps
as
a
way
to
cover
all
their
bases
legally.
According
to
a
Reddit
post,
Sony
also
altered
their
FAQ
to
say
that
“Some
PlayStation
games
may
require
you
sign
in
and
link
to
an
account
for
PSN.”
It
previously
read:
“Signing
in
to
PSN
is
optional
when
playing
a
PlayStation
game
on
PC.”
While
any
company
can
alter
its
FAQ
and
even
its
EULA
at
any
time,
it’s
still
not
a
great
look
for
Sony.

Speaking
of
which,
people
are
claiming
that
Sony
could
be
open
to
legal
action,
but
that
seems
unlikely
because,
as
stated,
the
need
for
a
PSN
account
was
clearly
shown
on
the
Steam
page
months
before
the
game
launched,
and
players
were
prompted
to
make
one
when
firing
up
Helldivers
2.

Regardless
of
the
legality
though,
I
think
the
players
are
right
to
push
back.
While
the
requirement
was
there,
it
was
not
enforced.
In
legal
terms,
if
the
terms
of
a
contract
are
not
enforced,
it
can
be
viewed
as
the
company
essentially
ratifying
this
“new”
version.

There
have
been
reports
on
Reddit
of
people
successfully
claiming
refunds
for
Helldivers
2,
even
with
hundreds
of
hours
of
playtime.
I
also
have
no
doubt
that
if
you
live
in
a
region
where
the
game
has
been
delisted
Steam
will
provide
a
refund.
If
that’s
the
case,
Sony
will
be
sent
the
bill
for
the
refunds
and
Steam
will
still
keep
their
slice
of
the
pie.

I
personally
think
Sony
will
walk
this
decision
back
as
the
PSN
requirement
doesn’t
seem
worth
the
PR
backlash,
even
if
it
was
clearly
marked
as
mandatory
and
Sony
are
legally
okay
to
do
it.
Most
of
Helldivers
2’s
success
has
gone
from
PC
gamers,
and
so
whether
this
level
of
ire
is
justified
or
not,
its
senseless
to
piss
them
off
over
something
that
doesn’t
benefit
Sony
all
that
much.