Given the removal of the PlayStation Network (PSN) requirement, Helldivers 2 faces hurdles. The Sony-published game has been pulled from Steam in nearly 200 locations.
Arrowhead, the developer, is attempting to bring it back to Valve’s platform. Sony’s initially excellent PC launch has now taken a tumble. Even if the PSN requirement is no longer in effect, the game has already taken substantial damage.
Helldivers 2 Pulled From Steam
Helldivers 2 developer and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has given an update on the game’s Steam delisting, and it’s not good news. Arrowhead is still talking with Sony to try and reverse the decision, but Pilestedt says “It doesn’t look positive.”
The game was originally removed from Steam in 177 territories by Sony, and three more countries were added to the list later: Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. These 180 territories can’t buy the game right now, but Arrowhead is trying to fix the issue with Sony.
The upcoming PC port of Ghost of Tsushima also got delisted on Steam in these territories because of a requirement from the PlayStation Network for the multiplayer part of the game. Valve, the company behind Steam, noticed this and took action independently.
Sony has now removed the PSN account linking requirement, and the negative reviews on Steam have mostly been reversed.
But Helldivers 2 is still unavailable in many parts of the world. Pilestedt and Arrowhead are working to get it back, but it’s been a challenge. Sony’s actions with Helldivers 2 and Ghost of Tsushima show a step backward in the PC gaming market.
Helldivers 2: Transforming Negative Reviews into a Heroic Mantle
Over the weekend, Helldivers 2 announced that players would need to link their Steam accounts to PSN to keep playing. But this idea got a lot of negative feedback, so Sony quickly changed their minds. Still, the game’s overall score took a hit from the backlash.
Please tell me this will be a thing
— Incognito_Blazer (@IncognitoBlazer) May 6, 2024
But Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt isn’t upset. He’s turning the negative reviews into something positive by adding them to the game as a cape. This way, players can wear the cape and remember this moment whenever they play.
And don’t worry, Pilestedt won’t charge players for the cape. People are even coming up with cool names for it, like “Voice of Democracy” and “We Dive Together”.
We don’t know when the cape will be added, but for now, the community is working to raise the game’s review score back up.