Helldivers 2 came close to becoming the new pariah of video games. Despite its immense success earlier this year, the PlayStation game has attracted the hatred of gamers following a controversial decision by Sony. At the end of last week, the publisher announced that a PlayStation Network account would be required to connect to the servers and enjoy the multiplayer game, starting this weekend for newcomers.
But in addition to having provoked Despite user discontent upstream, the decision had much more consequences once implemented. Indeed, Helldivers 2 was removed from sale in 177 countries around the world. The reason? The PlayStation Network simply does not exist there, so it was impossible for players to connect to the title from these regions of the world anyway. Faced with this observation, players took to social networks to express their discontent.
Review bombing galore
As in most cases similar to Helldivers 2, it was review bombing that got the better of Sony. Thousands of negative comments and ratings flooded video game reference sites, including Steam, which is the main platform in question. Many also requested a refund, even by bypassing the basic rules established by Valve. The company accepted them because the players motivated their request by a mandatory change in the terms of use for which they do not agree.
Is it better to do without a game that you love, to the point of spending hundreds of hours on it, rather than comply with the new rules? Apparently the answer is yes since the players have won their case. After a long online battle, Sony has finally agreed to back down and give power back to its PC users. In a message published on X, PlayStation declares:
Will Helldivers 2 set a precedent?
So, there is finally no longer any need for a PSN account to connect to the Helldivers 2 servers. No one knows if players who have been reimbursed will also change their minds after PlayStation has capitulated. Be careful, however, this situation will not apply to all others to come. The case of Helldivers 2 is special, because the mandatory implementation of PSN was done well after the release of the game. But it is still possible that this obligation will become a standard from the day of the launch of the next PlayStation game on PC. And then the players will have a choice to make, to accommodate this new rule or to move on.
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