Helldivers 2 backlash continues as Sony pulls the game from over 150 regions

Helldivers 2 is now unavailable for purchase in over 150 regions, and Steam is issuing refunds for the game, regardless of playtime.

On Friday, publisher Sony announced that, from May 30, the Steam version of Helldivers will require all players to sign in with a PlayStation Network account.

This change, which was present at the game’s launch but then removed, caused a huge backlash.

Is this the moment to tweet "What? You guys don't have phones?" 😵‍💫

On serious note: 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…
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 5, 2024

The game received over 100,000 negative Steam reviews in less than 48 hours, according to Steamdb. Social media chatter around the game has been similarly vitriolic.

Now, due to PSN not being available in over 150 countries where Helldivers 2 was previously purchasable on Steam, the game has been delisted in them, according to SteamDb. 

While players from any region can create a PSN account for any other region with little fuss, the lack of official support for the feature has seemingly forced Steam’s hand.

Alongside this, players are reporting that the service is issuing refunds for the game, regardless of playtime. Typically, players have two hours to decide whether or not they want a refund, but Valve has seemingly relaxed these rules in the wake of the PSN change.

According to research firm Circana, which this week published its US games industry sales report for March, Helldivers 2 already ranks 7th in lifetime US dollar sales for Sony published games after just two months of availability.