Helldivers II has had its fair share of controversy as of late and it seems like it is not slowing down. The once 'positive' reviewed game was off to a fantastic start on PC, with Its launch on Steam seeing over 450,000 peak players that caused servers to buckle! However, in recent days, the game has seen a dramatic fall from grace due to some rather interesting decision-making on behalf of Sony.
PC players of the game were hit with information that, even though they are playing on a different platform, they would now need to make and link up a PSN (Playstation Network) account to be able to continue playing the game they purchased. Sony's reasoning behind this was that “Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games.”
On the surface, a simple extra account requirement does not seem much of an issue. Even Arrowhead Game Studios, the developer of Helldivers 2, had mentioned from the start (apparently not loudly enough) that this requirement would be coming eventually.
Advertisement
Helldivers 2 Negative Review Bomb
So, why the review bomb? The issues arose when Helldivers 2 players realized that not all countries support PSN. In fact, a total of 177 countries globally will not legally be able to play Helldivers 2 in the wake of this update. This has now, of course, fueled rage within the PC community as it now means some players who had previously purchased the game may now become locked out when the PSN linking becomes mandatory!
Predictably, the Helldivers 2 on Steam began getting some scathing reviews from players who wanted to make their anger known. The game is currently standing at an 'Overwhelmingly Negative' review with over 200,000 recent reviews, and refund requests have started to pour in.
Advertisement
Can You Refund Helldivers 2 on Steam?
Refunds on Steam usually require the game to have been played for no longer than 2 hours, but players were so angry they felt this requirement should be overlooked in the Helldivers 2 situation. Due to the high pressure and huge amount of refund requests, Valve (Steam's developer) began to issue refunds for the game regardless of whether their refund playtime requirements were met.
What's Next for Helldivers 2 and Sony?
Now, where this will go next is anyone's guess! After a post from Arrowhead Studios CEO, Johan Pilestedt, who openly apologized for the entire situation but stated he is not able to do anything about it, it seems the entire decision will lie with Sony. With the current requirement for a PSN account still being in place and becoming mandatory on June 4th, will Sony backtrack on their decision or double down?
Many gamers are saying that the damage of the negative review wave is already done, whether Sony backtrack or not. And perhaps they're right.
Advertisement
