Helldivers 2 PSN Update Is Out Now, But It's Optional

thegamer.com:

Helldivers 2's latest update adds PSN support to PC, letting players on Steam link their accounts. However, unlike the initial proposition, the update makes this optional, so you can keep playing on PC without PSN if you don't want to make an account.

The initial plan for this update was Helldivers 2's largest controversy to date, as many fans protested the requirement that all PC players create a PSN account. Worse yet, some didn't even have the choice, and Helldivers 2 was delisted in more than 150 countries in which PSN is unavailable.

As update 1.000.304 rolls out, it was noted by GamesRadar+ that "optional" account linking is now available in Helldivers 2. This is a far cry from how it was initially put forward and allows everyone to keep playing the game as they were before - at least if it hasn't been delisted in your region.

In fact, the change is now so insignificant that it's pretty far down the list of additons in the patch notes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it doesn't mention PlayStation, Sony, or PSN by name at all.

PSN account linking will still be mandatory in Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut , but only in the online mode. This was still enough to get it delisted in more than 150 countries though.

Unfortunately, even with the PSN requirement being reversed, Helldivers 2 is still delisted in many countries. Developer Arrowhead has said that it "won't rest" until the game is back up and running everywhere that it was before the controversy broke out, but it's unclear when this will be.

In the meantime, this patch rolling out the scaled-back version of PSN linking is at least bringing us closer to the end of this saga. It looks like Arrowhead is eager to put this behind us too, as it's already making light of the situation with a new cape. This cosmetic references the review bombing that Helldivers 2 went through when the PSN update was announced, and it looks like the devs aren't bitter about it at all.