Sony has doubled down on its decision to require a PSN account to continue playing the once-popular shooter Helldivers 2, pulling the game from Steam across 170 countries with no PSN access.
This comes after the video game company last week announced that all players of Helldivers 2 playing on PC would be required to link a PlayStation Network account on Steam. This would be needed to continue playing the shooter game and comes after it was only an optional thing when the title launched.
Helldivers 2 Pulled From Steam in Some Countries
(Photo : Arrowhead Game Studios / Screenshot taken from Steam)
The development has caused Helldivers 2 to receive thousands of negative user reviews on Steam as a form of protest for Sony's decision. A community manager for the game also recently assured people living in countries without PSN access that they could continue playing the game.
However, the shooter has been pulled from more than 170 countries that lack PSN coverage based on listings from the Steam Database. It is also unclear whether or not owners of the game will be able to continue playing if they live in unsupported regions, according to GamesRadar.
The negative reviews combined with the game's removal in some regions is a massive blow to Helldivers 2. This comes as the game quickly became one of Sony's all-time best-sellers thanks to the PC version.
The situation also begs the question of why Helldivers 2 was even available in those particular regions in the first place. This is especially true if Sony said that it had initially planned to require PSN linking eventually.
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Additionally, Steam has also ignored its own policies and has started to issue refunds to some players who have more than 100 hours logged in Helldivers 2. Normally, Valve's gaming platform only issues refunds when players have logged less than two hours in a game.
However, the PSN linking requirement came months after the launch of the game on the gaming platform. A developer for Helldivers 2 also recently reiterated that the PSN change came directly from Sony and not Arrowhead Game Studios.
Sony's New PSN Requirement
Furthermore, members of the studio have said that they are currently having internal discussions with Sony regarding the PSN linking requirement. The latter said that this was not done at launch due to infrastructure limitations, said PCGamer.
The fact that many players from 170 countries will not be able to access the game, a FAQ from Sony in the Helldivers 2 Discord seemingly directs players to set their PSN account to a country different from where they are currently living in, which is a violation of Sony's terms of service.
The situation comes as Helldivers 2 has been a success for both the PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. The game not only pulled in a massive number of players and sales numbers but also brought in a ton of positive feedback.
Many players have described Helldivers 2 as fun to play along with its innovative live-service element and sense of humor. Sony's reasoning for its decision, saying that it's for players' security and safety, is not supported by history.
PlayStation Network had previously been targeted by cyber-attacks and now, opening up a new account always exposes people to new security risks, according to Forbes.
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