steam Helldivers 2 to require a PSN account login to play on PC

[indrora]

Well folks, it's been fun, but unless this gets retconned, I might have to petition for a refund. 

 

https://steamcommunity.com/games/553850/announcements/detail/4196868529806518742

Quote

As such, as of May 6th, all new HELLDIVERS 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Current players on Steam will start to see the mandatory login from May 30th and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4th. PlayStation Network accounts are free and easy to set up using this link
https://www.playstation.com/support/account/create-account-for-psn/

Meanwhile, Sony's own documentation says otherwise:

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/games/psn-sign-in-pc/

 

Quote

Do I have to sign in to PSN to play a PlayStation game on PC?
Signing in to PSN is optional when playing a PlayStation game on PC. 

 

There's plenty of regions where Helldivers has been wildly successful but where PSN doesn't support the creation of accounts in (Notably places like the Philippines), and thus the game will be unavailable to them until either Sony forces a backpedal or fixes their regionality. This is also on the back of multiple data breaches that Sony has had across their properties that have resulted in general doubt that the network can actually hold up their end of the deal.

 

Reviews on Steam have tanked:

 

Arrowhead has gone on to say that details from Sony are sketchy: 

IGN has some coverage of the fallout:

https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-is-forcing-all-helldivers-2-steam-players-to-connect-to-a-playstation-network-account-and-its-going-down-about-as-well-as-youd-expect

[GuiltySpark_]

Been interesting to watch. The people in countries where there is no PSN I somewhat feel bad for, though I'm seeing you can just say you're in another country and you can sign up. 

 

As for everyone else with PSN access, its just kind of laughable the stands people take on things. Takes 5 minutes, if that, to rectify this and you're back to gaming. 

 

Like do people not have more stressful/pressing things going on in their lives that they'd rather just stop playing a game they enjoy over something so trivial? Shoot, I've got real world stuff I care about, this is a video game. I cannot possibly care less if I have to take two seconds to fix a login issue.

[filpo]

I do wonder why they did this, slightly weird 

Edited May 3 by filpo

[Murasaki]

5 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

Been interesting to watch. The people in countries where there is no PSN I somewhat feel bad for, though I'm seeing you can just say you're in another country and you can sign up. 

 

As for everyone else with PSN access, its just kind of laughable the stands people take on things. Takes 5 minutes, if that, to rectify this and you're back to gaming. 

 

Like do people not have more stressful/pressing things going on in their lives that they'd rather just stop playing a game they enjoy over something so trivial? Shoot, I've got real world stuff I care about, this is a video game. I cannot possibly care less if I have to take two seconds to fix a login issue.

Seems most have issue with Sony having access to their "data" and refering to the breaches they've had. Although I doubt theres anything sensitive there from just registering and connecting to Steam.

[IkeaGnome]

Dumb question.

If Sony is the one forcing this change, why are people mad at the Helldivers devs?

[da na]

Either this'll completely ruin the game's reputation, or CODEX will have a no-PSN crack out a day before the change is pushed.

Actually, probably both.

[Hinjima]

9 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Dumb question.

If Sony is the one forcing this change, why are people mad at the Helldivers devs?

Because 99% of gamers dont think logically and just review bomb the shit out of games for no reason.

[Dedayog]

12 minutes ago, da na said:

Either this'll completely ruin the game's reputation, or CODEX will have a no-PSN crack out a day before the change is pushed.

Actually, probably both.

I  CODEX.

[indrora]

Continuing the fun: Setting up a PSN account in many places requires you to own a PlayStation

 

That $40 game for PC suddenly needs a $500 console you can't even play the game on...

[atxcyclist]

Between this and forcing Stellar Blade to be modified to be sold in the US, Playstation seems to be making some extremely unpopular choices lately.  

[CentreMetre]

Im confused. Did it not already require one? On the steam page is says 

Quote

Requires 3rd-Party Account: PlayStation Network (Supports Linking to Steam Account)

Which is why i didnt buy it, was it just that was there from the start anyway even though it wasnt true? I read how the account requirement was disabled from the start to handle the massive increase in players (source https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/05/sony-doubles-down-on-helldivers-2-psn-requirement-by-taking-it-off-sale-for-pc-in-numerous-countries). So did you not actually require a PSN account until now?

[Mark Kaine]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:54 PM, IkeaGnome said:

Dumb question.

If Sony is the one forcing this change, why are people mad at the Helldivers devs?

 

On 5/3/2024 at 10:05 PM, Hinjima said:

Because 99% of gamers dont think logically and just review bomb the shit out of games for no reason.

where does it say sony requires it, and why would they... usually you don't need this for cross platform play... 

 

doesn't this sound more like the inept devs effed this up also?

 

remember that's the same dev using extremely invasive and draconian "anti cheat" that doesn't even work... lol. 

 

[Mark Kaine]

24 minutes ago, CentreMetre said:

Im confused. Did it not already require one? On the steam page is says 

Which is why i didnt buy it, was it just that was there from the start anyway even though it wasnt true? I read how the account requirement was disabled from the start to handle the massive increase in players (source https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/05/sony-doubles-down-on-helldivers-2-psn-requirement-by-taking-it-off-sale-for-pc-in-numerous-countries). So did you not actually require a PSN account until now?

yeah, because people are actually... dumb...

 

 

but that's not the question.  the question is where's the official Sony statement that *they* require it and it's not just the devs trolling (again)? 

[Mark Kaine]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:45 PM, filpo said:

I do wonder why they did this, slightly weird 

and do you also wonder WHO did this? 

 

 

i cannot find *any* official SONY statements regarding this so its pretty obvious WHO i think did this ... (and is lying about it now)

[Mark Kaine]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:37 PM, indrora said:

Do I have to sign in to PSN to play a PlayStation game on PC?
Signing in to PSN is optional when playing a PlayStation game on PC. 

Actually,  i can't find that either, dear thread starter... got a screenshot perhaps? 

 

 

 

the plot thickens lol...

[Mark Kaine]

6 hours ago, atxcyclist said:

Between this and forcing Stellar Blade to be modified to be sold in the US, Playstation seems to be making some extremely unpopular choices lately.  

Sony has been known as "censorstation" for well over a decade now, so no, this isn't new or surprising. 

[CentreMetre]

1 hour ago, Mark Kaine said:

yeah, because people are actually... dumb...

 

 

but that's not the question.  the question is where's the official Sony statement that *they* require it and it's not just the devs trolling (again)? 

Well since its published by Sony I imagine that its Sony that wants/requires it rather than the devs. I imagine the devs either arent bothered or explicitly dont want it, it can only be more work for the devs to implement PSN connectivity and with whats happened now with reviews and refunds i imagine they would want it even less. 

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, CentreMetre said:

Well since its published by Sony I imagine that its Sony that wants/requires it rather than the devs. I imagine the devs either arent bothered or explicitly dont want it, it can only be more work for the devs to implement PSN connectivity and with whats happened now with reviews and refunds i imagine they would want it even less. 

then why basically no other "sony" game requires it...?

 

 

also its not even sony game lol (they might be publisher, its still not made by sony, unlike other games)

 

 

where's the statement from Sony saying yes we require this game to use a PlayStation account?

 

tldr: what other games on PC *require* a Sony PSN account?  

 

 

2 hours ago, CentreMetre said:

it can only be more work for the devs to implement PSN connectivity

 if the game has cross platform play then yes, its indeed on the devs to implement it, its just afaik no other game on pc *requires* a psn account for this.

 

 

the problem here is the devs saying sony requires it and we're supposed to take them by their word lol.

 

i *think* it might be the other way around and sony offers devs help with network implementation and that then requires an account  - speculation,  but again,  what other PC games require a PSN account?  i played plenty of cross-platform games that didn't require it (im not saying those don't exist, but Sony as a publisher specifically requiring it strikes me as a bit weird, ESPECIALLY with PSN's troubled history...)

[IkeaGnome]

4 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

 

where does it say sony requires it, and why would they... usually you don't need this for cross platform play... 

 

doesn't this sound more like the inept devs effed this up also?

 

remember that's the same dev using extremely invasive and draconian "anti cheat" that doesn't even work... lol. 

 

HELLDIVERS™ 2 - HELLDIVERS™ 2 Account Linking Update - Steam News (steampowered.com)

[CentreMetre]

36 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

2 hours ago, CentreMetre said:

Well since its published by Sony I imagine that its Sony that wants/requires it rather than the devs. I imagine the devs either arent bothered or explicitly dont want it, it can only be more work for the devs to implement PSN connectivity and with whats happened now with reviews and refunds i imagine they would want it even less. 

then why basically no other "sony" game requires it...?

 

 

also its not even sony game lol (they might be publisher, its still not made by sony, unlike other games)

 

 

where's the statement from Sony saying yes we require this game to use a PlayStation account?

 

tldr: what other games on PC *require* a Sony PSN account?  

Ah fair enough, tbh i dont play any sony games so i wouldnt know. Is it maybe because of its online capability? but if other online published by sony games dont require it then no idea.

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

5 hours ago, CentreMetre said:

Which is why i didnt buy it, was it just that was there from the start anyway even though it wasnt true? I read how the account requirement was disabled from the start to handle the massive increase in players (source https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/05/sony-doubles-down-on-helldivers-2-psn-requirement-by-taking-it-off-sale-for-pc-in-numerous-countries). So did you not actually require a PSN account until now?

The game at launch had the requirement, hence why it is in the steam listing. That got suspended almost immediately at launch, since the linking process was crushed by the amount of players coming in. So since about a day or so after launch you were at most asked to link your account once, but could immediately skip that. You would not be asked again.

 

Furthermore, the Sony store and FAQs did state (and partially still are stating) that a PSN account is not a requirement to play any PS games on PC. They are currently "fixing" that.

 

So, people assumed that because they could buy the game, skip the registration process and play for months without it, because Sony FAQs stated accounts were not needed, and because the game was sold in regions where PSN was not available, that simply put: PSN wasn't a requirement after all.

 

https://direct.playstation.com/en-us/support/pc-games

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/pc-games/?smcid=psd:en-us:faq:pc-games:pdc-pc-faq#faqs

Screenshots, taken now:

Spoiler

 

 

Plus a few bits from the helldivers subreddit where people point out that Sony is currently trying to change all the FAQs etc:

 

[Mark Kaine]

4 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

HELLDIVERS™ 2 - HELLDIVERS™ 2 Account Linking Update - Steam News (steampowered.com)

yeah, they apparently changed the TOS just now... as i quoted above the thing OP quoted isn't there anymore,  it now says "may require a psn account" on the Playstation website... pretty damn sus lol.

 

And while not incorrect, the people reporting on this should have pointed that out - which they couldn't since the Sony website just changed *yesterday*...

 

 

Tldr: really sus, cause no game on pc requires technically a psn account,  if it does its solely done for malicious or petty reasons.  

[Dedayog]

5 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

HELLDIVERS™ 2 - HELLDIVERS™ 2 Account Linking Update - Steam News (steampowered.com)

That reminds me of the conspiracy theory people.

 

Railing and railing while making up supposed sorta kinda maybe possibly the dev does it cuz they think they're douchie, and ignoring Sony flat out saying it.

 

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-pc-players-will-be-forced-to-link-to-a-psn-account-later-this-month-for-greater-security-from-sony/

 

I'll let you figure out who the rabid dog conspiracy theorist is in this thread.... 

[IkeaGnome]

20 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

That reminds me of the conspiracy theory people.

 

Railing and railing while making up supposed sorta kinda maybe possibly the dev does it cuz they think they're douchie, and ignoring Sony flat out saying it.

 

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-pc-players-will-be-forced-to-link-to-a-psn-account-later-this-month-for-greater-security-from-sony/

 

I'll let you figure out who the rabid dog conspiracy theorist is in this thread.... 

It's not just this thread. I just posted this in the *other* thread about the same exact thing..

4 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

I actually trust Arrowhead quite a bit here(kernel level anti cheat aside). What they've said lines up very well with what has been shown.

HD2 was always supposed to have PSN requirements and did at launch. It was temporarily suspended and it was stated that temporary suspension of this requirement was due to server load. Not requiring PSN temporarily allowed everyone who bought the game to play the game instead of getting review bombed for server issues. 

Pre-purchase HELLDIVERS™ 2 on Steam (archive.org)

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850/view/3906374309655891718?l=english

Read the legal on that update for launch as well.

That screenshot is from the prerelease. It says that it requires the 3rd party account.

I wish I could find a good first party picture of a screenshot of somewhere they said it's temporary. If you wade through all the conspiracies though, enough people are saying it, and there are screenshots from in game of account linking process that it lines up.

 

----------on a good note-------------

 

Valve is processing refunds for people in countries that can't get PSN.

 

In the mean time it's been delisted for most any country that can't get a PSN. 

HELLDIVERS™ 2 (SubID 137730) · SteamDB

Look at change 23416542.

There's still a few missing, but the vast majority are on there.

 

And with this, I'm done with this particular thread. I'll be over in the "tech news" thread if you need me

[GarlicDeliverySystem]

40 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-pc-players-will-be-forced-to-link-to-a-psn-account-later-this-month-for-greater-security-from-sony/

 

I'll let you figure out who the rabid dog conspiracy theorist is in this thread.... 

What am I missing here? That article quotes the same steam statement quoted earlier in this thread.