Helldivers 2 Boss Responds to Steam Removal Controversy

The director of Helldivers 2 has spoken up about the game's Steam delistings.

The CEO at Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Studios has released a series of responses on social media in light of the game's controversy tied to Steam. Within recent days, Helldivers 2 has come under fire from many fans as Sony announced that the PC version of the game on Steam would soon require all players to link their PlayStation Network accounts in order to play. In light of this move, Helldivers 2 has since been delisted on Steam in 170 different countries, as these regions don't support PSN. With the game's community now greatly frustrated, the director behind Helldivers 2 has opened up further about the situation. 

Posting to X (or Twitter), Arrowhead Studios creative director Johan Pilestedt informed Helldivers 2 players that resolutions are being looked into at the moment with those at Sony. Pilestedt stressed that he's doing as much as he can, but because the game is published by PlayStation, he isn't the one in charge of everything that happens with Helldivers 2. Despite this, Pilestedt still took a portion of the blame for how this controversy came to be in the first place as those at Arrowhead knew that PSN linking would be a requirement for the game in the future. 

"We are talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for non-PSN countries. Your voice has been heard, and I am doing everything I can to speak for the community – but I don't have the final say," Pilestedt said in a post earlier today. "Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!"

Since its launch back in February, Helldivers 2 has been the biggest breakout hit of 2024. Not only is it currently the year's best-selling game, but it has garnered a fervent fanbase that has largely appreciated how Arrowhead has continued to push out new content. This new controversy tied to its Steam iteration is the biggest hurdle that the project has encountered so far. Whether or not Sony ends up reversing its decisions of the past week remains to be seen, but if the correct choices aren't made to resolve this matter, it seems that PlayStation could be at risk of losing much of the goodwill and positivity it has built up with Helldivers 2