Since it launched on 8th February, it’s been possible to play the brilliant Helldivers 2 on PC without having to link your Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. That’s soon to change, however, with Sony Interactive Entertainment announcing that being able to play without linking your Steam account to a PSN account is set to expire.
It will no doubt be an inconvenience for many players. While some may already own a PlayStation console or have created a PSN account in the past, others will have to create one from scratch in order to continue to play Helldivers 2. Steam reviews for Helldivers 2 have been flooded with people expressing their dismay at the move.
“Sony gets hacked more often then CIA, Microsoft and Amazon combined! Using a PSN acc is like putting your car keys on top of your car to improve your ‘security’”, reads one review. Another states “yeah, not linking to psn, Psn isnt even available in my country…” [sic].
Players were meant to have to connect their Steam account to a PSN account to play Helldivers 2 from day one, but technical issues resulted in players being given a grace period. Moving ahead, Sony states linking a Steam account to a PSN account will be required because it “plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games”.
In the statement published on Steam, Sony goes on to say, “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.”
With Helldivers 2 being a runaway success since it launched, this might hamper a bit of the game’s momentum going ahead. Considering a PSN account is free to create, however, and with more and more PlayStation games making their way to PC, it’s perhaps something that PC gamers will simply have to get used to.
