Summary
Arrowhead Games Studio CEO andHelldivers 2director Johan Pilestedt has confirmed that he is working on getting the game relisted on Steam in the certain regions it was recently removed from. This news comes after the controversy about requiring PC players to link PlayStation Network accounts to continue playingHelldivers 2.
Helldivers 2was subjected to mass review bombingand outrage against Arrowhead and publisher Sony, mainly because of the limited number of regions where PSN is supported and the potential revocation of the game’s access for players in those regions. Shortly after,Helldivers 2was delisted from 177 regions, which happened to be exactly the ones without PSN coverage, amplifying the outrage further. Thankfully, Sony eventually walked back on the decision, butHelldivers 2still remains inaccessible in the aforementioned regions.
Luckily, Johan Pilestedt is on the case. The Helldivers Alerts Twitter account recently posted a screenshot from Arrowhead’s official Discord server, wherein the CEO acknowledged the problem regardingHelldivers 2being removed from 177 regions. He assured fans that he is discussing the game’s reinstatement in those regions with Sony and Valve, but didn’t promise any timeline for the same. He also remarked that getting Sony to backtrack on the account linking controversy was a “herculean effort,” potentially hinting that havingHelldivers 2relisted may take a while.
Arrowhead’s transparency and support for the community is praiseworthy. The studio has maintained open dialogue with the player base since the launch ofHelldivers 2, proven further by Arrowhead community manager Spitz encouraging fans to express their dissatisfaction with the PSN account linking mandate to build a stronger case in discussions with Sony, thereby leading to the review bombing. Sadly, it was recently discovered that Spitz was fired, resulting in manyHelldivers 2players petitioning for the community managerto be brought back.
In the midst of the controversy, it did appear that the success and goodwillHelldivers 2racked up in the past 3 months may have been spoiled forever, and that the community would largely abandon the game. Fortunately, Sony backpedaled in due time, leading toHelldivers 2’s review bombed negative scores being reversedand back to its usual “Mostly Positive” rating. However, the controversy isn’t over, as the game has yet to be restored in those 177 regions. It’s puzzling why Sony sold the game there in the first place, knowing it would eventually enforce the PSN requirement, but thanks to the community and Arrowhead,Helldivers 2players in those regions can rest easy knowing they’ll have worry-free access to the game.
