Helldivers 2 Delisted from Steam in 177 Countries Due to PSN Account Linking Requirement

If you are a fan of Helldivers 2, you will have no doubt heard of the current controversy threatening to destroy Arrowhead's beloved creation. After months of constant updates, patches, and new content, gamers are now searching for how to refund Helldivers 2 and Sony doesn't seem to be budging on their demand. 

Sony announced that all Steam players who want to play Helldivers 2 will have to link to a PlayStation Network account. The main issue is that over a hundred countries in the world have no PSN coverage. This means on June 4, everyone who has purchased and loved the game but cannot create a PlayStation Network account, will be blocked from Helldivers 2.

Thousands of fans have shown their anger by review bombing the popular sci-fi shooter. Now there are over 215,000 negative reviews on Steam for Helldivers 2 and players are not going to stop until Sony and Arrowhead sort the problem out.  

Helldivers 2 Have Been Removed from Steam in 177 Countries

Arrowhead Game Studios announced that if Sony and their team do not come up with a way for everyone to play Helldivers 2, they will not make the account linking mandatory. Both companies are in discussions about how they can make this work but instead of backing down to their consumers' desires, Sony seems to have delisted Helldivers 2 from Steam in the countries that don't have PSN coverage. 

Not only is Sony blocking everyone in those countries from playing Helldivers 2 after June 4, but now, anyone in those countries who wants to try out the game cannot do so. Many people can't help but think that if they had any intention of withdrawing this mandate, why would they take Helldivers 2 off Steam? Here is the official statement by Sony regarding the mandatory PSN account linking:

Attention Helldivers,

Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS™ 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post.

Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games. This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behaviour. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.

-Sony Interactive Entertainment

There are only 195 countries in the world and while Steam does divide regions slightly differently, it only has 240-250. Helldivers 2 is no longer available in 177 of those countries. That means nearly 75% of all countries on Earth no longer have access to Helldivers 2. 

Steam Is Now Issuing Refunds for Helldivers 2

Steam is ignoring the two-hour gameplay limit and issuing refunds for players who have been playing Helldivers 2 for months. If you reside in one of the countries that does not have PlayStation Network coverage, you can contact Steam and while there is no guarantee they will give you your money back, they have been doing so as long as you give them a good reason. Everyone can agree that getting blocked from Helldivers 2 after paying for it is a good enough reason.

Nobody at Sony has yet to come up with a solution for this problem and instead, people are concerned they are only making matters worse. We will have to see if there is a way out of this mess without destroying Helldivers 2. The developers have made it clear they are fighting on our side and they did create a great game. Let's hope they come up with something fast.