Players who’ve been spreading managed democracy across the fictional videogame galaxy of Helldivers 2 on their PC have a new Major Order: link a PlayStation Network account. Game publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment had been allowing players to play without such an account, but that’s about to end.
“As of May 6th, all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account,” Sony said in a post on X and on Steam.
Existing players will be prompted to link starting May 30, and they’ll have until June 4 to do so. Presumably, the game won’t be playable after that without linking. A representative for Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The post says the reason for the requirement is “to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior.” Banned players will be allowed to appeal.
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While PlayStation 5 console players must pay a fee to play online games such as Helldivers 2 with a PlayStation Plus subscription, creating a PlayStation Network account is free. Sony provided a link for players to create a new account, and the process can also be done via the PlayStation mobile app. An email address is required and the account must be verified using that address.
Previously, players of Helldivers 2 had the option of linking to their PlayStation account in order to enable crossplay, in which PC and PlayStation 5 Helldivers can play in the same games. There is currently no Xbox console version of the game, but it’s been rumored to be a possibility.
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Discussion online about the change was swift: A Reddit thread on the topic drew almost 10,000 upvotes in 12 hours, with some posters pointing out that there are countries where players can’t create PSN accounts. Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead Studios, the studio behind the game, said the company is looking into solutions for that.
On X, the announcement post had more than 8,600 responses, with some suggesting that Steam users uninstall the game and ask for refunds.
Windows Central reported that players are review-bombing the game on Steam, meaning posting numerous negative reviews of the game, due to the new requirement. Recent reviews on Steam are listed as “Mixed,” with one top review joking that Automatons, the robot villains from the game, have taken over Sony headquarters.
