Fact Checked by 
Players of Helldivers 2, the popular third-person shooter that launched in February, are discovering they need to have a PlayStation Network account if they want to access the game on Steam.
Helldivers 2 is Sony’s biggest-ever launch on Steam, but there were no mandatory requirements to have both a Steam and PSN account at launch. Now 60 days after release, Sony Interactive Entertainment is telling PC players they need to create a PlayStation Network account to access the game. It’s an extra layer of friction to playing the multiplayer-only game that has many upset.
Helldivers 2 was developed by Arrowhead Studio and published by SIE on Feb. 8. Arrowhead alarmed fans with the following post to X on May 3.
Helldivers! An important message from our partner Playstation about account linking for PC players and its significance in providing player safety features.
Read the full message here: https://t.co/L1A9jv8yBf pic.twitter.com/q3eXKbtoNB
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) May 3, 2024
Sony mandate for PSN account to access Helldivers on Steam
Helldivers 2 has a thriving cross-play community on both PlayStation 5 and Steam, but there was no requirement that PC players hold a PSN account. There is a deep and understandable resentment among PC players that they hold PlayStation Network credentials.
s @PirateSoftware posted to X “Not happening. Removing access from Steam players unless they make a PSN account and link it months after release is absurd. Review changed to negative and I have filed for a refund.”
In a news release, Sony claimed that “Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games. This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.”
Many players are skeptical of this justification. Arrowhead, meanwhile, is caught in the crossfire of doing business with a major publishing partner and social media platforms like Discord which, as reported via IGN, has been firefighting the decision on their behalf.
“Sony has a dedicated team, a ban appeal process, and tools to take action on player reports,” Helldivers 2 community manager Baskinator said on Discord, “and it’s all connected to having a PSN ID.”
Players are being notified now that they need to link their accounts between PSN and Steam. By June 4, a PlayStation Network account will be mandatory to play Helldivers 2 on either platform.
Image: Arrowhead Studios.
