Helldivers 2 players knew how to mobilize against Sony after in-game training
Hell divers 2 Since launch, players have spent their time in the Galaxy learning to work together for a common goal. When the Automatons mysteriously returned to threaten the galaxy, tacticians took to X and Discord to encourage fans to hit the right planets. Super Earth asked Helldivers to kill two billion insects, and the player base succeeded within hours. But the biggest concerted effort players have made isn’t against the bugs or bots, but against the game’s publisher, Sony – and after a weekend of protest, the Helldivers scored a huge victory.
Sony announced this on Friday Hell divers 2 players would have to link their in-game accounts to their Sony accounts, which would require logging into an additional platform. It was a hugely unpopular change and Steam players voiced their displeasure. While some players were simply annoyed by an extra step of red tape, or fearful of having their information stored on Sony’s servers after previous data breaches, others were left out completely. The PlayStation Network is not accessible in 177 countries and territoriesand so players from regions like the Philippines completely lost access to a game they had already paid for.
Hell divers 2 players immediately took action, coordinating on platforms like Reddit, X, and Discord to make their displeasure clear. Hell divers 2 was hit with hundreds of thousands of negative Steam reviews, turning the very positive ranking upside down. Players made memes and propaganda posters and gathered under the slogan “We dive together, or we don’t dive.” Community members discovered that Steam would issue refunds even for accounts that had lasted much longer than two hours, and encouraged fellow fans to refund en masse. Not even the first Helldivers was off-limits, as was the title from circa 2015 bombarded mercilessly by reviews.
The infrastructure for these types of efforts had already been established Hell divers 2‘s Major Orders, which typically last about a week, and ask players to complete a goal. That could be something like holding a line of defense, conquering a series of planets, or setting up infrastructure. Dedicated players will take to social media to announce priorities to less focused fans, encouraging everyone to stick around on one planet to advance the Major Order, or calling people back from an unwinnable front.
As an employee of Arrowhead Game Studios put it“Gotta give it to the community, you bastards are good at working together for a great common goal.”
Sure enough, Sony relented on Sunday night and announced that the game will no longer require account linking. Fans, in turn, have begun to remove some of the damage their initial protest caused – and are taking advantage of Hell divers 2‘s kayfabe to be able to make these requests. The Helldivers subreddit has a pinned post, marked as a Major Order, that reads::
“Sony has reversed their decision to move forward with the account linking update. Helldivers; should you choose to accept this large order. Please consider un-rating your Steam rating. Arrowhead has worked very hard to make this game special, and you as a player have shown both Sony and Arrowhead that your voice matters too. Let’s restore Helldivers 2 to its formal (sic) glory. And let’s get this community back to normal. Undo any negative reviews you’ve left for other games Arrowhead or Sony have worked on. Let’s do better as a community and not do that again.”
The Hell divers 2 fanbase enjoying their victory, with even one fan creating physical merchandise from Helldiver themed patches in honor of the success against Sony. Arrowhead has created a game that requires the player base to communicate, collaborate, and manage priorities. This latest hiccup with Sony shows that fans have learned this lesson well, and they can take these skills beyond the war table and apply them to the real world. While many fans encouraged protesters to focus on Sony and leave Arrowhead out of the crossfire, others were less discriminating with their anger. It remains to be seen whether this trend will ultimately be a force for positive change, or whether this motivated fanbase will continue to crusade over the regular hiccups that are common in any live service game. For now, most players seem satisfied with this huge win over Sony – and proud of the community for achieving such a big win.