Helldivers 2 Devs Having 'Internal Discussions' About Account Linking Controversy

gamerant.com:

Helldivers 2 developers are reportedly holding internal discussions regarding its controversial PlayStation Network account linking requirements for Steam players. The Helldivers 2 community was caught in a fiery meltdown after Arrowhead Game Studios announced plans to enforce its account-linking measures months after the game was released, with players quickly flooding online forums and servers demanding an explanation from both the developers and publisher.

In contrast to the overwhelmingly positive reception it received in the weeks following its February launch, Helldivers 2 has seen unprecedented levels of contempt in recent days from its thousands of players, who were outraged by its plans to begin enforcing a rule stipulating that PC users will be required to link their Steam account to PSN after a month-long grace period. Many fans have protested against this decision, claiming the game's End-User License Agreement for Steam contained no clear mention of a PSN requirement. They additionally pointed out that PSN was only available in 69 countries and that, for players residing outside these territories, simply creating an account is already violating PSN's Terms of Service, which is a bannable offense.

The public backlash was so intense that it inevitably caught the attention of the developers. Spitz, the Helldivers 2 Discord server community manager, posted an update claiming Arrowhead Game Studios was in the process of hosting internal discussions regarding the overwhelmingly negative reception of the Steam and PSN account linking requirement. While Spitz could not reveal specific details regarding the talks, he claimed developers were looking for alternatives, and that notably, if a solution was not found for countries without access to PSN, account linking would at the very least not be made a requirement for players within those regions.

Spitz additionally clarified that the changes to the account-linking requirements originated from Sony rather than