Sony officially cancels Helldivers 2 PSN requirement

After days of review bombing, Sony has officially reversed its controversial decision with Helldivers 2.

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Good news for PC players: Helldivers 2 will no longer require a PlayStation Network account in order to play. Sony had originally mandated that all Helldivers 2 users on Steam would have to make a PSN account and link it to their Steam account by June 4 or else they wouldn't be able to keep playing.

This caused massive backlash, leading to over 100,000 negative reviews for Helldivers 2 on Steam. Valve also started to delist Helldivers 2 in the dozens of countries that couldn't make a PSN account, and lots of refunds were issued. Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead tried to triage the issue, working with Sony behind the scenes and promising updates soon. Now Sony has made the decision to just scrap its original mandate altogether.

"Helldivers fans -- we've heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

"We're still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we'll keep you updated on future plans."

Helldivers 2 remains one of the most popular Sony Interactive Entertainment games on PC and is believed to have made major contributions to PlayStation's Q4 revenues. We'll have to wait until Sony publishes its quarterly earnings to find out more.