Helldivers 2 Announces Mandatory PSN Login, No One’s Happy

Helldivers 2, which released on February 8, 2024, has been a wildly successful surprise. The third-person co-op is one of the top-selling games of 2024 and its launch caused all sorts of technical issues due to its popularity. Because of those issues, the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account became temporarily optional, but that’s all about to change. PlayStation has announced that as of May 6, all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Current players on Steam will have until June 4 to link their accounts, although they’ll see the mandatory login starting May 30.

Although PlayStation Network accounts are free to set up, the idea of mandating Steam players to log into yet another account just to play their game is understandably annoying. Unsurprisingly, Helldivers 2 has been review bombed as a result of the announcement, and its current rating for recent reviews is “Mixed” with 83,025 user reviews. Developer Arrowhead’s CEO took to X to say, “Well, I guess it’s warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!”

Unfortunately, it’s clear the mandate comes from Sony PlayStation, which publishes Helldivers 2. There’s very little chance Sony will walk back the requirement, considering other PlayStation published titles require a PlayStation Network link in order to play online multiplayer.