In a major decision that is sure to have repercussions in several directions; Sony announced on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the May 6 update which required PSN account linking for PC players is being rolled back. They also went on to add that they are learning what is best for PC players, and that the feedback from the gaming community has helped them arrive at this decision.
When the update was first enforced; it led to huge negative backlash against what has been one of the most well-received games of the year; with several gamers review-bombing the game on Steam, and also the game being delisted from several countries that did not have access to PSN. There were in fact even concerns on whether the same requirement will extend to the upcoming PC port of Ghost of Tsushima planned for May 16th.
While this is a win for the overall gaming community; it also puts question marks on how will Sony take ahead their PC plans; as their chances of being able to have an overall PSN network being extended to PC will now face stiff hurdles with this particular incident acting as a precedent.
Update: To no one’s surprise, after the negative backlash and review bombing on SteamDB for Helldivers 2, and the subsequent reversal of stance from Sony, this has remained unchanged. The game has since then continued to win accolades and awards – winning the Best Action Game and Best Online Game of the Year awards at the 28th Annual D.I.C.E Awards, The Best Ongoing Game and The Best Online Game at The Game Awards in 2024, the Critics’ Choice and The Best Multiplayer Game of the Year Awards at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2024 and several others.
The players and the overall gaming community have also looked to put this behind them, as the game – while not the highs of launch time of 450k+ active players, the game has still managed to keep a respectable 50k – 60k active player count at most times – with this spiking to 150k range during updates, crossovers and patches.
There is also a movie plan on the horizon for Helldivers 2, with a current release window of Nov 2027, to be directed by Justin Lin.
