Players took the coordination honed in Helldivers 2 to the real world over the weekend in a battle to allow anyone to play the game without linking a PSN account. Amidst this conflict, the game was delisted in several countries, but players have realized they can still launch and play.
Last weekend saw Helldivers 2 players work together more fiercely than I’ve ever seen them fight before. They voiced their disappointment through reviews on Steam and have managed to keep the game free from the requirement to link a PSN account. However, while all this was happening, Helldivers 2 was delisted from all the countries where PSN accounts are unavailable. Interestingly, though, players in those regions report they can still help spread managed democracy.
Helldivers 2 is still playable in countries without PSN account access, so don’t refund or delete it
While Helldivers 2 was delisted on Steam in the countries where you can’t create a PSN account, players in those countries have confirmed on the game’s subreddit they can still get into it. It seems since they still own the game and didn’t get a refund right away, and presumably have it still downloaded, they’re free to continue playing. The requirement that would have locked them out is no longer part of Helldivers 2 access.
It’s good news for everyone in these regions who owned the game and have been enjoying it. However, if you’re in these regions and already requested a refund or deleted the game, you’re out of luck for now.
The reason the game was delisted in these regions is that with the announcement that a PSN account would be a requirement to play, the game was technically unplayable in them. While it’s possible to make a PSN account for a region in which you don’t live, that workaround doesn’t seem to be allowed when it comes to the sale of games through Steam. The PSN account was technically always required, but Arrowhead Game Studios had to remove that requirement due to technical issues surrounding the game’s launch.
Last week, developer Arrowhead Game Studios told Helldivers 2 fans they’d have to link a PSN account to the game from the end of May if they wanted to continue to play. This sparked three days of intense backlash, with the game’s Steam review rating hitting Overwhelmingly Negative at one point.
Now, there’s a question of whether Helldivers 2 will be relisted in these regions. I don’t know the specifics of how this will work, but it seems as though Valve is the one that delisted the game. This was, of course, done for the right reasons and likely had a big impact on Sony’s decision to backtrack. But it now appears to be Valve’s decision as to whether the game will be listed for sale in these regions again.
We can go around in circles about this all day, but ultimately Sony as the publisher and Arrowhead Game Studios as the developer will need to prove the game doesn’t require a PSN account, which is the limiting factor. After that, we’ll have to see what happens.
