Helldivers 2 Director admits he ‘doesn’t have final say” amid PSN catastrophe

Helldivers 2 Director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has responded to massive community backlash following the recent PSN drama.

It’s been a rough few days for Helldivers 2 fans and the developers behind the title. The game now requires PC gamers to sign into a PSN account in order to play which has resulted in the title being delisted in 177 countries without PSN access.

Players in those countries who purchased Helldivers 2 on Steam will lose access to the game on May 6, 2024, and many more who do not wish to create a PSN account are boycotting the game. Since the announcement, Helldivers 2 has been swept up in record-breaking review bombing on Steam and the outrage has spilled over onto the first game.

Following this catastrophic controversy, the game’s Director and CEO of Arrowhead Johan Pilestedt has responded to Helldivers 2 players. Unfortunately, it remains unclear how much he’ll be able to do about the situation.

Arrowhead CEO clarifies role in Helldivers 2 PSN fiasco

“We are talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for non-PSN countries. Your voice has been heard, and I am doing everything I can to speak for the community,” Pilestedt promised. “But I don’t have the final say.”

Despite Sony holding the proverbial keys to the kingdom here, Pilestedt made a point to take accountability for his own role in the recent controversy. Responding directly to a callout from a Helldivers 2 fan, he elaborated on his involvement.

“I am not blameless in all of this – it was my decision to disable account linking at launch so that players could play the game,” Pilestedt explained. “I did not ensure players were aware of the requirement and we didn’t talk about it enough. We knew for about 6 months before launch that it would be mandatory for online PS titles.”

Pilestedt’s response has done little to quell the outrage and the review bombing for Helldivers 2 continues. At the time of writing, over 250,000 recent Steam reviews have categorized reception to the game as ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’.

Since this article was first published, PlayStation has announced that the May 6 update that would have required PSN linking will not go ahead. Helldivers 2 players on Steam will not require a PSN account for the time being.