Sony Is Forcing All Helldivers 2 Steam Players to Connect to a PlayStation Network Account — and It’s Going Down About as Well as You’d Expect

ign.com:

Sony has sparked a backlash after announcing plans to force Helldivers 2 Steam players to connect to a PlayStation Network account.

In a statement attributed to Sony Interactive Entertainment, the PlayStation maker said that due to “technical issues” at the launch of Helldivers 2, it allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. Sony said this “grace period” will now expire.

Here’s what’s going to happen: on May 6, 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 30 and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4.

Why is Sony forcing this requirement upon Steam players? Safety and security, it said. “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,” Sony said in its statement. “This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.”

Perhaps bracing itself for a backlash it knew was to come, Sony said: “We understand that while this may be an inconvenience to some of you, this step will help us to continue to build a community that you are all proud to be a part of.

“Many thanks for your continued support of Helldivers 2!”

It’s fair to say that PC gamers who play Helldivers 2 on Steam and have nothing to do with Sony or PlayStation are upset by the decision. Many are saying they had no idea that playing Helldivers 2 on Steam without linking to a PlayStation account was part of a “grace period”. As has been pointed out, Helldivers 2 launched with this requirement, but it was removed after the game exploded with popularity and the servers collapsed. Still, that