The Helldivers devs have recently experienced a challenging few days, with the Community Manager facing especially difficult circumstances for supporting players during the recent PSN controversy.
The Helldivers 2 development team and player community were recently shocked by the contentious decision to mandate that Steam players link their PSN account in order to access the game. This change would have resulted in players from 177 countries being unable to spread Managed Democracy.
The announcement sparked a significant amount of backlash and a record-breaking number of negative reviews. As a result of the massive collective effort of Helldivers 2 players, PlayStation was ultimately forced to reverse their decision.
In the aftermath, PC Gamer observed the noticeable absence of Spitz, the popular Community Manager for Helldivers 2, in the game’s Discord channel. Initially, Spitz reassured the community that they had only come close to being fired. However, it has since been confirmed that Spitz has been removed from their position as Community Manager, causing outrage among the playerbase.
Helldivers 2 Community Manager Sided with Players
Spitz clarified that as a Community Manager, it is not advisable to encourage individuals to request refunds and write negative reviews. They expressed gratitude for the support and even more so for the fact that everyone can now access the game without limitations. Despite the potential consequences of their statement regarding refunds and review alterations, they stand by their decision. As a representative of the community, it was their responsibility to act in the best interest of the players.
PlayStation seemed dissatisfied with Spitz’s suggestions on how players could influence the PSN linking situation. According to Spitz, expressing their dissatisfaction through reviews and refunds would give the players more leverage in negotiations with Sony. Although it was difficult to see the game’s ratings suffer, discussions were still ongoing and Spitz stood by the players in their battle.
Despite the cost to Spitz, who are no longer present in the Helldivers 2 Discord, the decision to axe the update seems to have been well-founded, as it was a result of player outrage.
In the absence of Spitz, the channel has been inundated with pleas to bring him back and players have even created a change.org petition to amplify their message. Some have also proposed launching a second round of review bombing, which would be unfortunate as the game’s Steam rating had just been restored to
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