Helldivers 2 slammed by almost 100k PC players in historic review bombing

Helldivers 2 is experiencing one of the biggest review bombings in gaming history, rivaling Overwatch 2’s Steam release with tens of thousands of negative reviews all at once.

Following the announcement that Helldivers 2 would soon require players to link a PSN account with Steam to play, backlash from players was immediate and overwhelming. This controversy doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

Helldivers 2 is making history as it quickly nosedives to one of the most negatively reviewed Steam games of all time, with the negative ratings now climbing by almost 100k in just two days amid near-unprecedented backlash. This rivals the likes of Overwatch 2 and Battlefield 2042 and has potential to surpass both as far as the sheer quantity of negative reviews goes.

Players are angry due to a mix of Sony’s past history with data breaches and the fact that dozens of countries are restricted from making a PSN account. And, while you can work around these limits, faking your location can warrant a ban.

As a result, Helldivers 2 players are enraged. Their official Discord server has been moving faster than most Twitch chats despite having a 5-minute slow mode enabled, with players getting creative in the ways that they’re calling out Sony. The same is true on Steam.

“The Automatons have taken over Sony Headquarters, as a result they have recently made a decision to actively reduce our numbers by requiring ‘linking’ (Sending Military Secrets) with their ‘Playstation Network’ (Intel Collection Network) in order for our “Safety and Security” (Un-Democratic) and making it mandatory (Un-Liberty Like) by May 6th, 2024, Super Earth Time,” one Steam review reads.

“The Ministry of Truth has requested that this un-democratic behavior CEASE immediately and has declared it a threat to Managed Democracy. All Helldivers must put an end to this tyranny (in game).”

The game’s top reviews on Steam read much like this, and relations with community managers have only stoked the fire. A Discord message from Community Manager Spitz reads as follows:

“It’s not like this is the first or even the fourteenth mainstream game to require a third-party account that takes a couple minutes to create, but if it’s a dealbreaker to take 120 seconds out of your day to enter an email and password then forget about it, change your Steam review and make your displeasure known on a platform where it matters.”

And, next thing you know, Helldivers 2 rating plummeted. This community manager has since walked back the statement.

“If a better solution isn’t provided for players who are in regions without PSN coverage, I’m assured that we won’t be making the requirement mandatory for those players. We’re not going to force people to either break Sony TOS or not play the game,” he explained.

Fortunately, it appears that all PC players have won a victory. PlayStation has announced the cancellation of the May 6 update meaning no PC players will require a PSN account to play Helldivers 2.