Helldivers 2 PC players can now breathe a sigh of relief. Sony has finally removed its requirement for PC Players to create a PlayStation Network (PSN) account after attempting to force Steam users to have one. The planned update for May 6 will no longer be released and Helldivers 2 will still be available for sale in the 177 countries not covered by PSN.
Over on X, Sony wrote: “Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.”
Helldivers 2 fans had taken to social media for days, responding to Sony’s decision with intense backlash. Over on Steam, Helldivers 2 began to receive negative reviews, causing the game to dip to Overwhelmingly Negative within a few days only after being one of the most highly rated games on the platform.
Arrowhead–the company behind Helldivers 2–also responded to the situation, with CEO John Pilestedt writing on X: “firstly, I am impressed by the willpower of the @helldivers2 community and your ability to collaborate. Secondly I want to thank our partners and friends @PlayStation for quickly and effectively making the decision to leave PSN linking optional. We together want to set a new standard for what a live game is, and how developers and community can support each other to create the best game experiences.”
Helldivers 2 was initially going to require a PSN link from launch day, but Sony ended up delaying the requirement as a result of network limitations. However, other controversies surrounding the situation arose, as the community manager at Arrowhead had failed to inform the player community about the requirement–which the company knew of 6 months in advance.
Either way, the situation seems to have largely blown over and now players from all over the world can still play Helldivers 2 without needing the PSN link.
Sony has been recently pushing to add more PlayStation 5 games to PC, with Sony President Hiroki Totoki promising to shrink the gap between the systems to increase profits at the company. Helldivers 2 had launched on PS5 and PC from day one. Typically, Sony releases to PC come after some time from the PS5 release.
Ghost of Tsushima is set to receive a PC release this year and the developers have confirmed that a PSN link is not required for that game either, as many players found that situation uncertain following the Helldivers 2 situation.
