Sony doubles down, removing Helldivers 2 from sale in 177 countries and territories that can't access PSN while Arrowhead CEO says 'I don't have the final say' (2024)

Sony doubles down, removing Helldivers 2 from sale in 177 countries and territories that can't access PSN while Arrowhead CEO says 'I don't have the final say' (1)

Update: Sony has now backed down on its demand that Helldivers 2 players log into a PSN account.

Even as members of Helldivers studio Arrowhead Games say that discussions around Sony's controversial PlayStation Network sign in requirement for Helldivers 2 on PC are still ongoing, it looks like the publisher is doubling down on the move, halting sales of the game in countries where it doesn't offer the service.

In theory, Helldivers 2 was always supposed to require players to sign into the PlayStation Network in game, but this was not required at launch due to network infrastructure limitations (remember Helldivers 2's early server woes?). Two days ago, Sony announced that it would begin enforcing that requirement in a month-long rollout.

While merely an (admittedly odious) inconvenience for most players, PC users in countries not covered by PSN might be locked out of the game entirely. This simple fact seems to have taken even Sony by surprise, with an FAQ from the publisher in the Helldivers 2 Discord seeming to direct players to set their PSN account to a country other than the one in which they live, a violation of Sony's terms of service. Speaking to the game's rioting community yesterday, Helldivers 2 community manager Spitz framed addressing this oversight as the developer's number one priority in discussions with Sony about the requirement.

As shared by SteamDB early this morning, Helldivers 2 has been removed from sale on Steam in 177 countries and territories. Japan seems to be on the list as an outlier, with the game being replaced by a different version in the country, seemingly due to localization reasons. The rest, though, are all regions not eligible for PSN access, with this move seemingly in preparation for the worst-case scenario of a rollout where players who can't sign up for the PlayStation Network are simply out of luck.

The Steam review riot against the move continues unabated, with over 211 thousand negative recent reviews, bringing the former people's champion of 2024 to overall "Mixed" status on the platform. Almost 130 thousand of those new negative reviews were in the past day alone⁠—when I last checked in on Helldivers 2 yesterday, we were sitting at 84 thousand. Eurogamer also reports that some players are even receiving refunds from Steam despite vastly exceeding the platform's usual 2-hour window.

And Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead might just be one of the biggest victims of the situation, having its trend setting, GOTY shortlist labor of love get proverbially drawn and quartered due to myopic Sony decision making. "We are talking solutions with Sony, especially in non-PSN countries," Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt wrote on Twitter earlier today. "Your voice has been heard, and I am doing everything I can to speak for the community⁠—but I don't have the final say."

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Sony has been holding its hand to a hot stove for about three days now, all in the name of capturing new emails and users into its PSN ecosystem, and while I'm just a simple country games journalist, the smart move would probably be to stop right about now. What's more, not making this change would take less effort: just keep Helldivers 2 running as it has for the past four months.

Whether Sony eventually realizes this or not, it may already be too late. Similar to how Tarkov's $250 mode controversy was allowed to burn uncontrolled for six days, potentially permanently souring its community and driving them to alternatives like Grey Zone Warfare, Sony and Helldivers 2 have sustained calamitous reputational damage over this sign in debacle. The thing is, there's just nothing out there quite like Helldivers 2, which makes the prospect of its demise or diminishing all the sadder.

Ted Litchfield

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

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Sony doubles down, removing Helldivers 2 from sale in 177 countries and territories that can't access PSN while Arrowhead CEO says 'I don't have the final say' (2024)

FAQs

Sony doubles down, removing Helldivers 2 from sale in 177 countries and territories that can't access PSN while Arrowhead CEO says 'I don't have the final say'? ›

Sony doubles down, removing Helldivers 2 from sale in 177 countries and territories that can't access PSN while Arrowhead CEO says 'I don't have the final say' 211 thousand negative Steam reviews and counting for the former people's champion of 2024.

Why did Sony remove Helldivers 2? ›

Sony's call to remove Helldivers 2 from sale in these areas was largely perceived as the company doubling down on its PSN account linking requirement, which is why it was assumed the game would become purchasable again in short order after the company axed its plan to reintroduce that requirement on Sunday.

Is Helldivers 2 banned in countries? ›

The Japanese multinational conglomerate had removed Helldivers 2 from Steam in 177 countries, recently adding Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia to the list, bringing the total to 180 territories where the game is currently unavailable for purchase.

Is Helldivers 2 delisted? ›

Helldivers 2 has been delisted in various countries across the globe. One player created a map illustrating where the game is delisted. Many in the community are relieved that no PlayStation Network account is needed to play Helldivers 2 on Steam.

Did Sony reverse Helldivers? ›

Sony made it mandatory for Helldivers 2 players on PC to create a PSN account to continue playing the game. However, after facing a lot of backlash the Japanese game maker has decided to cancel the mandate. Helldivers 2 is now once again available worldwide for both PC and PlayStation 5 players.

Is Helldivers unavailable in 177 countries? ›

As Helldiver 2's reviews continue to collapse on Steam, Arrowhead's best-selling action game has been pulled from around 177 countries in the wake of the new PSN account linking requirement that has turned its fanbase upside down.

Why is Helldivers 2 removed from Steam? ›

Helldivers 2 was recently delisted from Steam in over 100 countries due to PlayStation enforcing PSN sign-ins. This decision was reversed after a ton of negative feedback, although many countries still can't purchase the game.

Why is Helldivers 2 forcing PlayStation connections? ›

Why is Sony forcing this requirement upon Steam players? Safety and security, it said. “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,” Sony said in its statement.

Does Helldivers 2 need PS Plus? ›

You cannot play Helldivers 2 without a PS Plus subscription

Helldivers 2 doesn't offer an offline mode either, so if you want to play it in any capacity you'll need to get at least the basic PS Plus subscription. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.

What's happening with Sony and Helldivers? ›

Sony backtracks, now says it won't make Helldivers 2 players on Steam link a PSN account. Sony's plan to force PlayStation Network accounts on PC players of crossplatform hit Helldivers 2 went over terribly. On Steam, it received 84,000 negative reviews in one day.

Is Helldivers being removed? ›

Helldivers 2 gets delisted in more countries without PSN access, blindsided devs call for it to be "available worldwide" Helldivers 2 is still being removed from sale on Steam in more countries, even after publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) scrapped its hugely controversial PSN mandate.

How many countries is Helldivers 2 banned in? ›

HELLDIVERS™ 2. PSN gone yet 177 countries still banned. I guess democracy is dead after all. All hail Sony they removed the mandatory PSN requirement and still blocked 177 countries but now close to 200.

Will Sony back down Helldivers 2? ›

Congratulations gamers, you won this one. After a weekend of severe online backlash, widespread review bombing, and targeted developer harassment, Sony has finally backed down on its decision to enforce mandatory PSN account linking for Helldivers 2 players on PC.

Why did Steam remove Helldivers 2? ›

Helldivers 2 has been relisted on Steam in a few countries after previously being delisted due to Sony's controversial decision to require PlayStation Network (PSN) account linking for PC players.

What is the Helldivers 2 controversy? ›

Recently, Helldivers 2 became the center of a significant controversy when Sony introduced a new requirement for all PC players to link their Steam accounts with the PlayStation Network (PSN).

What happens with Helldivers 2? ›

Steam tracker site Steamdb reported that the game had been delisted in 177 countries where PSN was not available, and there were reports from players that Steam was issuing refunds to players beyond the typical refund window. Then, early Monday morning, Sony announced that it would rescind the PSN linking requirement.

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