Players can sigh in relief as Sony backtracks on its recently announced Helldivers 2 PlayStation account linking requirement. Sony announced on May 2 that it would begin requiring new players to link their Steam accounts to a PlayStation account as of today and allowing current players another month to do the same. An update was going to be rolled out to enforce this which has now been tabled.
Per Sony (via Steam):
“Attention Helldivers,
Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS™ 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post.
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. This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behaviour. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.
As such, as of May 6th, 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 start to see the mandatory login from May 30th and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4th. PlayStation Network accounts are free and easy to set up using this link
https://www.playstation.com/support/account/create-account-for-psn/
We understand that while this may be an inconvenience to some of you, this step will help us to continue to build a community that you are all proud to be a part of.
Many thanks for your continued support of HELLDIVERS 2!
Sony Interactive Entertainment”
Claims of fraud
The above announcement instantly created an uproar within the Helldivers 2 community who were quick to respond with a massive amount of negative reviews on Steam, which thanks to the PC release, had become Sony’s 7th highest-grossing published game in history. Additionally, there have been some players in European countries to whom Sony does not offer PSN access who spoke up about being unable to comply with the new rule and requested refunds. One such user’s experience was posted on Steam and then shared, along with others, on Reddit.
Sony PSN Network support page
Things only get sketchier from here because Sony has reportedly been caught quietly changing its support page regarding its PSN account linking requirements. As reported by DSOG, Sony had originally said in 2022 that PC players would not be required to log into the PlayStation Network. However, screenshots from then and now show a change that states that some games may require users to sign into a PSN account.
Sony backtracks
So following all of these events, which have transpired in a relatively short amount of time, Sony has posted a statement as it backtracks on the new requirement. There is still no acknowledgment of the countries that PSN does not support nor the above changes on its support page but at least for now, Helldivers 2 players needn’t worry about the forced account linking.
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.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024
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