Helldivers 2 is getting a cape to ‘celebrate’ its review bombing saga

It's happening!

A pair of Helldivers fire on an objective with two weapons from the Polar Patriots Warbond in Helldivers 2.
Image via Arrowhead Game Studios

A month after Helldivers 2’s Steam page was decimated with negative reviews for Sony’s infamous PSN move, Arrowhead CCO Pilestedt has confirmed the rumored review bomb cosmetic cape is all ready to go live. Interestingly, however, the team is still waiting for the perfect time to release it.

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On May 11, inspired by players who suggested the PSN account-linking debacle should be immortalized in the game, Pilestedt shared what looks like an intriguing teaser to a review bomb cape in a tweet, leaving fans starry-eyed for what’s coming. The teased cape design featured red vertical lines, indicating the influx of negative reviews after Sony’s announcement. He also acknowledged a fan-made design for the cape to be “pretty cool” in a following tweet.

A pair of Helldivers fire on an objective with two weapons from the Polar Patriots Warbond in Helldivers 2.
The cape is happening! Image via Arrowhead Game Studios

Well, all that seemed to be a rumor—until now. On June 14, replying to a curious fan’s query, Pilestedt confirmed the review bomb cape is indeed happening and is “done on their end.” Unfortunately, they are yet to “find the right time to release it.” So, as much as it’s real, we still don’t know when we can put on the honorary cape to celebrate the fandom’s applaudable achievement while defending democracy. 

Back in May, Sony announced it was going to make PSN accounts mandatory for all Helldivers 2 players with an upcoming update, and it left the community baffled. As per Sony’s official statement on Steam, this rule was supposed to be enforced with the game’s initial launch in February but was delayed due to technical reasons. But with Sony dumping it on the player base months after release, those who bought Helldivers 2 before were being left with no option but to create a PSN account—or risk losing access to the game.

Naturally, players revolted, leading to a historical display of the gaming community’s potential against bad business moves. As Helldivers 2 surpassed Overwatch 2 to become Steam’s worst-rated game of all time, Sony was forced to cancel its PSN account update to reverse the damage.

As of now, players who bought Helldivers 2 before May 6 can access it without a PSN account. Unfortunately, you’re still out of luck if you have yet to buy the game and reside in a non-PSN country (there are around 177 such regions).

Well, Arrowhead is actively working on relisting its prized creation back to Steam in those regions, so if you are affected, don’t give up on democracy just yet.

Author
Image of Sharmila Ganguly
Sharmila Ganguly
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. An enthusiastic gamer who bumped into the intricacies of video game journalism in 2021 and has been hustling ever since. Obsessed with first-person shooter titles, especially VALORANT. Contact: sharmila@dotesports.com