Helldivers 2 is a game about infinite warfare, and now its fanbase finds itself in a similar situation, as a civil war rages between players following a change in how the super-popular online shooter will run on PC.
On May 3 was announced Helldivers 2 Gamers on PC You will eventually need to create a free PlayStation Network account to continue playing on Steam. While the Steam page for the game always said a PSN account was required to play, Sony and Arrowhead had disabled that requirement due to server issues and players not being able to link their accounts. But now that the dust has settled and things are stable (for the most part), the PSN request is about to be fulfilled. On May 6th, new players must have a PSN account to play. Meanwhile, existing players will have until June 4th.
This account linking announcement started a civil war within the great Helldivers community, some argue that it’s no big deal, while others argue that it will completely kill the popular sci-fi co-op shooter on PC. The war spread to fans on Reddit, Discord, Twitter and everywhere else Helldivers 2 collect online. It’s the first time the community has been divided like this, and the first real negative incident the popular shooter has faced since earlier this year.
Two sides in it Helldivers 2 civil war
In general, when looking at the Internet, there are two sides to the war. A group of mostly PlayStation gamers claim that this requirement, while a bit annoying, is no big deal. They say that many games require a third-party account, the Steam page always states a PSN account requirement, and getting a PlayStation account is quick, easy and free.
The other side, which is mostly made up of PC-only or mostly PC gamers, says the claim is bullshit. They point out that of course the store always mentions that an account will be required, but Sony hasn’t enforced it for months, they claim that it’s not necessary for the game to work and be enjoyed by PC and PSN users. to play together. Some also don’t trust Sony with their data. Others point to a bigger problem: PSN is not legally available in all countries. So PC gamers in some parts of the world can be screwed once Helldivers 2 forces you to have a PSN account to play.
On the last point, Arrowhead Games mentioned Helldivers 2 Say that the decision to force players to have a PSN account came from Sony and that they don’t yet have all the details about the region-related issues and are looking into it. (Sounds like something you wanted to figure out months ago…)
The two sides are divided not only over the PSN account issue, but also through legacy platform divisions. There’s a lot of proxy warfare going on beneath the surface between old PlayStation loyalists and angry PC gamers who aren’t fans of the consoles or their audience. I’ve seen numerous posts on the game’s Discord server joking about why PSN players hate playing with PC players and suggesting that Steam users will now kill PlayStation players during missions.
Ruins of war
As you might expect, this war and its aftermath went beyond angry messages and threads on Twitter. On Steam, Helldivers 2 now has a “Mixed” review statussomething that seemed impossible just a few days ago.
It’s a game that kills it, a rare example of a live service title done rightand a game that often has a community that loves it dearly online role playing when replying to official posts and messages. The player base has united against bots and bugs, with a few odd exceptions. They fought shoulder to shoulder against threats big and small. They worked together to protect democracy. Now they are fighting each other. It’s the first time society has really been torn apart like this, and I think it will heal completely at some point or time.
now, Helldivers 2 It has received numerous negative reviews on Steam, with many calling for a boycott of the game and suggesting that people ask Valve for a refund. About 12 hours after the news broke, the game was already purchased Over 10,000 new negative reviews on Steam.
Above Helldivers The situation on the Discord server has turned into a nightmare. Many players who don’t participate in online shouting cannot enjoy chatting with their fellow players because of all the spam, toxic messages and rants. The game’s community managers jump from channel to channel, trying to keep the war from spilling over into every part of the server as angry players pour into the OffTopic channel to report on Sony, PSN accounts, PC players, and the future of the game.
I especially feel bad for the community managers, because it seems like this announcement was not handled by them, and Sony, who ultimately owns the IP, didn’t give more details to Arrowhead or its team. However, it’s these poor souls who spend hours and hours on Discord answering questions while angry gamers throw insults and complaints.
“Until [Sony] offers us a more detailed answer, we will answer as best we can with the limited information we have. Was there supposed to be an FAQ? Yes,” community manager Twinbeard wrote. In a separate post, Twinbeard also admitted that this whole situation “could have been handled better.”
A few hours after the Twitter civil war broke out and players began to revolt, Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt-It responded to the flood of negative reviews on Steam: “Ouch, on the viewing account.” He then delivered a heartfelt, honest, refreshingly transparent message to fans on both sides of the war.
“Well, I guess it’s warranted,” Pilestedt tweeted. “I apologize to everyone for how this all happened. I hope we can fix this and restore trust by providing a consistently great gaming experience. I just want to make great games!”
.