To further add salt to the recent news of mandatory PSN account linking. Helldivers 2 has now also been removed from the Steam storefront in over 150 countries where making a PSN account is not possible. This has, understandably, made fans of the game even more mad and frustrated.
As per SteamDB, a website that keeps track of changes in Steam, it was revealed that a total of 177 countries were added to a list called PurchaseRestrictedCountries. This list includes countries such as Egypt, the Philippines, Jamaica, Georgia, and Puerto Rico.
Although players could still access the storefront in these countries, they no longer have the option to purchase the game itself.
The 177 countries in the list are all countries in which making a PSN account is not available. Surprisingly, Japan is also included in the 177 countries that can no longer buy Helldivers 2. SteamDB does explain, however, that Japan has its own version of the game, different from the “global” version that others cannot buy.
This recent update has only served to fuel the unrest already rampant in the community. As of this article, the game now has an Overwhelmingly Negative rating in its recent reviews (259,981 total reviews). This contributes to its Mixed overall review rating (541,244 total reviews).
On top of this, players have also started refunding the game as well. Although Steam normally has strict requirements for game refunds (bought within 14 days of the refund request, as well as play time of fewer than 2 hours), there have been reports of players with almost a hundred hours receiving refunds for the game.
Players have also taken to posting about their frustrations and anger online. Some are jokingly saying that Sony did this because the game was doing “too well”, and as such had to be brought down. Others are educating other gamers who do not understand just how much of a negative change this is.
Arrowhead Is Working Towards Reverting This Change
Thankfully, Arrowhead themselves want to revert this change. Community Manager Spitz mentioned in the Helldivers Official Discord that players “making their displeasure known through reviews, refunds, etc” gives the team “more pull in the discussions with Sony.”
It hurts to see the game's popularity suffer in ratings, but discussions are ongoing and our team is on the side of the players in this fight. It's unrealistic to expect people to make PSN accounts in different regions to get past the account linking requirement. We're aware of that. Discussions are ongoing.
Additionally, Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 Creative Director Johan Pilestedt, echoed what Spitz was saying.
In his post on X, Pilestedt mentioned that they were “talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for no-PSN countries.” He also assured that he was “doing everything he can to speak for the community.” However, he tempered player expectations by stating that he doesn't “have the final say.”
No updates were available regarding the situation as of this article. We will just have to wait and see what solutions Sony and Arrowhead will come up with to fix the situation, and if it'll ever fix the broken trust between Arrowhead and Sony, and its community.
That's all the information we have about how Helldivers 2 was removed from Steam following its mandatory PSN account linking. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.
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