Helldivers 2 Director’s Lack of Final Say Admitted Amid PSN Catastrophe

Johan Pilestedt, the Director of Helldivers 2 and CEO of Arrowhead, has addressed the significant community criticism that has arisen in response to the recent PSN controversy.

Despite the loyal fan base and hardworking developers of Helldivers 2, the past few days have brought challenges. The recent requirement for PC players to have a PSN account in order to access the game has led to its removal from the market in 177 countries where PSN is not available.

On May 6, 2024, players in certain countries who bought Helldivers 2 through Steam will no longer be able to play the game. As a result, numerous individuals who do not want to make a PSN account are participating in a boycott of the game. The announcement of this change has caused Helldivers 2 to be subjected to an overwhelming amount of negative reviews on Steam, and the backlash has even extended to the original game.

After the disastrous controversy, Johan Pilestedt, the game’s Director and CEO of Arrowhead, has addressed Helldivers 2 players in response. However, it is still uncertain what actions he will be able to take to resolve the situation.

Arrowhead CEO clarifies role in Helldivers 2 PSN fiasco

“In our discussions with PlayStation, we are focusing on finding solutions for non-PSN countries. Your feedback has been acknowledged and I am actively advocating for the community’s concerns,”reassured Pilestedt. “However, the ultimate decision does not rest with me.”

Despite Sony being in control of the situation, Pilestedt took responsibility for his actions in the recent controversy. In response to a Helldivers 2 fan’s criticism, he explained his role in the situation.

“Pilestedt acknowledged that he was partially at fault for the situation, as it was his choice to disable account linking during the game’s launch in order to allow players to start playing immediately. He also admitted that he and the team did not do enough to inform players about the mandatory requirement for online PS titles, despite having known about it for 6 months prior to the launch.”

Despite Pilestedt’s response, the outrage and review bombing for Helldivers 2 show no signs of subsiding. As of now, the game has received over 250,000 recent Steam reviews that are overwhelmingly negative.

Since this article was initially released, PlayStation has declared that the planned May 6 update, which would have mandated PSN linking, has been cancelled. For now, Helldivers 2 players on Steam will not need a PSN account.