Helldivers 2 suffers Steam review bombing following controversial PSN account linking announcement
Yep, that's usually how people tell you they're not happy about a thing.
Helldivers 2 is now racking up a barrage of negative Steam reviews following an announcement from Sony that linking your Steam account to a PSN one is set to become a mandatory requirement to play the game soon. Obviously, this is something a whole load of PC players - those being the ones affected by this - aren't fans of, hence the aggressive thumbs downing.
If you're out of the loop, Sony said in the announcement that it's set to end a "grace period" during which not linking the two accounts was optional due to some technical issues around the game's launch. The new state of play is this: "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 start to see the mandatory login from May 30 and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4."
Since that bombshell dropped this morning, the game has been hit by a slew of negative reviews from folks frustrated with the fact that the linking is becoming mandatory - even if it has been listed as requirement on the Helldivers 2's Steam page since launch.
As of writing, the game's amassed something in the region of 8,000 negative reviews just over the course of today, May 3. More will probably keep pouring in over the weekend unless Sony and Arrowhead can find a way to turn public opinion back in their favour - possibly by reversing the decision, or coming up with solutions to the concerns and complaints players are expressing.
The exact reasons these folks are objecting to the change vary, with some being concerned about the effect it might have for players in regions PSN doesn't operate in, many citing concerns about giving Sony access to their data, and plenty simply not wanting to have to go through the sudden rigmarole of setting up another account in order to access a game they've already been playing for a while.
With regards to the first of those, Arrowhead community manager Twinbeard has told concerned players in the game's official Discord server that the studio is currently still chasing up Sony representatives for more info on what the change will mean for folks in places without access to PlayStation Network.
While this is obviously dominating the Helldivers news cycle now, in case you missed it, a fresh Warbond for the game - Polar Patriots - was announced yesterday.