On This Day a Year Ago, Sony Nearly Ruined Helldivers 2

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On This Day a Year Ago, Sony Nearly Ruined Helldivers 2

Exactly one year ago today, on May 6, 2024, the Helldivers 2 community rose in revolt against Sony’s proposed changes. The game had launched to immense acclaim just months earlier, and it became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time. So what went wrong, you might ask.

Well, Sony decided to retroactively enforce mandatory PlayStation Network (PSN) account linking for PC players. This immediately turned what was one of the most successful launches for a live-service game into a PR disaster. The backlash was swift, global, and ultimately, effective. But we’re now in 2025, and the scars remain.

Last year, the Helldivers 2 community showed Sony the power that players hold

At the time, Sony announced that all PC players would soon need to link a PSN account to continue playing Helldivers 2. The rationale that the company gave us players at the time was moderation. We were told that linking accounts would help identify toxic behavior, hackers, and griefers. But that didn’t matter to the thousands of players who had already bought the game under different terms and couldn’t play anymore.

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And so the backlash started. It was fast and severe, with players getting together in a massive review bombing campaign on Steam. The game’s rating plunged to “Mostly Negative,” and there was nonstop pressure until Sony backed down and reversed the decision just days later.

But while this reversal was a big win for us, it came at a cost. As of today, multiple countries still cannot legally purchase or play Helldivers 2. Some players still can’t play alongside friends because the game remains unavailable in their regions. We can’t help but agree with

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when they say, “The reward should be ‘freedom to play.’“

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At the time, Helldivers 2 had just become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game in history. The game sold 12 million units in only 12 weeks and was shaping up to be one of the big hits of 2024. It did eventually become one of the biggest successes of the year, but just imagine what could’ve been if we never had this controversy in the first place.

We never even got the Review Bomb Cape either, but for good reason

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One of the biggest things after the whole thing was the so-called Review Bomb Cape. After fans successfully pushed back the PSN policy, Arrowhead’s then CEO Johan Pilestedt hinted at commemorating the moment with an in-game cosmetic. We were teased a cape for our efforts, but as of today, it has yet to be released.

There is a fair reason, though. According to Pilestedt and others at Arrowhead, releasing it while there are regions where players still can’t play the game would send the wrong message. It doesn’t ultimately make it easier, but the studio has earned our respect for that.

May 6, 2024, could have been the beginning of the end for Helldivers 2. Instead, it became a defining moment of resistance. That day was proof that we can influence major corporate decisions.

But as long as certain regions remain excluded from playing the game, the story is far from over. The battle for Super Earth may be fictional, but the fight for fair access was, and still is, very real. It’s unlikely that we get those regions back due to Sony’s policies with them, but we can always hope.

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#Day #Year #Sony #Ruined #Helldivers

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