Following the reversal of Sony’s plans to make PSN account linking mandatory on PC, Helldivers 2 players have been flooding the game with positive reviews. In just a day, Helldivers 2’s Steam rating has gone from overwhelmingly negative to mixed, with 61,940 positive reviews on May 6.
Helldivers 2‘s community stood together and rallied against Sony’s mandatory PSN account linking policy, and their collective action—in the form of review-bombing—was a clear message to the publisher. Now, following Sony’s statement confirming it’s cancelled the plans, the community is working together to change their negative reviews into positive ones. One Steam review says “Democracy has prevailed,” and many more agree.
A post from the Helldivers 2 Discord server says Sony’s mandatory PSN-to-Steam account linking policy was intended to enhance player safety and enjoyment. However, the rollout didn’t go as planned. Helldivers 2 was delisted from Steam in 177 countries where PSN is unavailable, which substantially restricted access to the game around the world.
At the time of writing, positive reviews are at an all-time high of 76,767 since the game released in February, and the trend is likely to continue upward.
Arrowhead’s Game Studios CEO, Jhan Pilestedt, applauded the Helldivers 2 community for working together and said the PSN war will set a new standard for live service games. Hopefully, the debacle will allow developers to negotiate better with their publishers and reach decisions that benefit gamers most.
