Helldivers 2 CEO blames Sony for PSN account backlash 'we had to comply'

The debacle between Helldivers 2 PC players and the game's developer and publisher has reached new heights, with the developer Arrowhead Studios's CEO now blaming the publisher, Sony Interactive Entertainment. 

The Helldivers 2 controversy began when Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced on the Helldivers 2 Steam blog that Helldivers 2 PC players would be required to link a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to their Steam account to access the game. The community entered into an uproar at this news as many gamers in various countries around the world don't have access to the PSN network in their region, meaning they would get locked out of Helldivers 2 as soon as the change was implemented.  

Helldivers 2 was bombarded with more than 100,000 negative reviews, driving its review description down to "overwhelmingly negative". The CEO of Arrowhead Studios, Johan Pilestedt, apologized for the events that transpired and said the decision wasn't the developers - it was Sony's. In response to the community uproar, Helldivers 2's Steam listing was removed from more than 170 regions, as selling the game to consumers who won't be able to play due to a lack of PSN access is simply fraudulent. 

Pilestedt has since taken to his personal X account to give some more details about the PSN account inclusion, writing Arrowhead was aware it was important for Sony to have PSN accounts linked with Steam accounts, but the decision to make linking optional was made at launch in an effort to combat extreme server load. Pilestedt also explained linking couldn't be reenabled until now and that "the requirement to reenable came from PS (to help with moderation) - and we had to comply even though there were concerns there would be backlash."