Helldivers 2

tl;dr - Helldivers 2 was removed for purchase on Steam for countries unable to create PSN accounts. This was not reverted.

tl;dr Steam Console command - Replicable results by performing: Run > steam://open/console > Execute command: package_info_print 137730

As many are aware, on May 6th Sony has rescinded their mandatory PSN account linking that was scheduled for May 30th. Although this is a big win, many are not aware that the same countries that were going to be restricted due PSN limitations have already been restricted on Steam as of May 4th (SteamDB - Change 23416542 - https://steamdb.info/changelist/23416542/). This was not reverted.

You can find current information regarding this through Steam console:

• Open Steam console (Run > steam://open/console)
• Execute command package_info_print 137730 (This is the command to print current information for 137730, which is the sub/package for Helldivers 2)
• Here's the current output for that as of this posting:

] package_info_print 137730
PackageID : 137730, change number : 23416565/23416565 
"137730"
{
	"packageid"		"137730"
	"billingtype"		"10"
	"licensetype"		"1"
	"status"		"0"
	"extended"
	{
		"allowcrossregiontradingandgifting"		"false"
		"AllowPurchaseFromRestrictedCountries"		"0"
		"PurchaseRestrictedCountries"		"AF AG AI AL AM AN AO AQ AS AW AX AZ BA BB BD BF BI BJ BL BM BN BQ BS BT BV BW BY BZ CC CD CF CG CI CK CM CU CV CW CX DJ DM DO DZ EG EH ER ET FJ FK FM FO FX GA GD GE GF GG GH GI GL GM GN GP GQ GS GU GW GY HM HT IM IO IQ IR JE JM JO JP KE KG KH KI KM KN KP KY KZ LA LC LK LR LS LY MA MC MD ME MF MG MH MK ML MM MN MO MP MQ MR MS MU MV MW MZ NA NC NE NF NG NP NR NU PF PG PH PK PM PN PR PS PW RE RS RW SB SC SD SH SJ SL SM SN SO SR SS ST SX SY SZ TC TD TF TG TJ TK TL TM TN TO TT TV TZ UG UM UZ VA VC VE VG VI VN VU WF WS XD YE YT ZM ZW"
	}
	"appids"
	{
		"0"		"553850"
		"1"		"2506210"
		"2"		"2506220"
		"3"		"2506240"
		"4"		"2506250"
		"5"		"2506260"
		"6"		"2506280"
		"7"		"2506300"
	}
	"depotids"
	{
		"0"		"553851"
		"1"		"553853"
		"2"		"553854"
	}
	"AppItems"
	{
	}
}

• Notable fields: AllowPurchaseFromRestrictedCountries=0 (Meaning do not allow from Restricted Countries); PurchaseRestrictedCountries={List of Countries}

You can also find a better formatted version of these limitations on SteamDB here: https://steamdb.info/sub/137730/info/

Hope this helps put things into perspective. Come to your own conclusions regarding this.

Edit: https://lemm.ee/post/31661746 - Steam announcement that these restrictions were requested by the publisher Sony and to find more information about this decision through them.

Edit2: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-gets-delisted-in-more-countries-without-psn-access-blindsided-devs-call-for-it-to-be-available-worldwide/ Gamesradar post from another community post.

Edit3: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2024/05/ghost-of-tsushima-psn-steam-refunds/ Ghost of Tsushima related issue.

This is the Discord FAQ archive, I recommend reading all of it https://lemmy.ca/post/20577314

**Steam Announcement 5/2/24 **

This announces the return of PSN forced logins

“Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS™ 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post.

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. 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.”

**Playstation Announcement 5/5/24 **

Backing out the PSN account changes, some corpo BS basically

"Helldivers fans—we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward. We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.”

**Some Analysis **

Basically from the information I gathered here’s how I see it went down. The notice requiring PSN connection was always there where all the EULA requirements are (right side of the store page next to the game features. You have to scroll past the buy button to see it. I never look at those. “Requires 3rd-Party Account: PlayStation Network (Supports Linking to Steam Account)” The PSN connection requirement was —active— on launch for a short amount of time. Due to the massive server lag this was causing they paused the feature. They then reenabled, leading to the previous 2 announcements.

**Problems I see with Sony **

1. They should never have sold to the 177 countries that it is illegal Corporate BS from the FAQ basically says go to a country that supports PSN, make an account, and go back.

Comment from @[email protected] “Basically if you don’t live in a PSN country, they want you to lie to make a PSN account, making you in breach of the TOS. But they don’t want to say it directly. So they only answer in that mealy mouthed if you’re traveling scenario. What this means is if you live in one of the 66% of the world countries that doesn’t have access to PSN You’re going to lose access to the game. Unless you lie. And if you lie you could get banned.”

2. They needed to make it absolutely clear in-game that they were having server issues and that PSN login would be required once they got that sorted.

This was a fuck-up on their part not keeping their users informed. If they had put in that simple notification in-game none of this would have happened.

3. After one or two months of the feature not working and having huge success with the servers, amount of users, and player engagement, they should have just scrapped the feature.

4. Anyone being gifted the game would not have been aware of this, ever.

**Good things that happened: **

1. Steam offered full refunds to anyone that played, regardless of hours, which is extremely rare

2. After much collaboration from the gamers, PSN is no longer required

3. Gamers were able to push a corpo to not do some BS. Huge win

**To summarize: **

I didn’t notice the 3rd party login that was present when I purchased. That’s on me. Early gamers knew about the PSN connection. Any one of them that thought it was bad would have just returned it. Any one who didn’t care kept playing and didn’t bring it up because they didn’t care. Sony probably made the assumption people pay attention to those things. I will continue to play. For Democracy!

If you did leave a negative review consider taking it down. It is still a very great game. I’m going to delete mine but am not going to give a positive one due to the fuckery.

Welcome back, Helldivers.

Edit:

@IncognitoBlazer The team is taking about a good name for it right now.

https://x.com/Pilestedt/status/1787379765441085890

Late night tweet from the official PlayStation X account confirms they will no longer force the linking of your PSN account to your PC copy of Helldivers 2.

I’m a PS5 player, so I can’t make an impact, but if you did write a negative review (thank you, you made this happen ❤️) please consider taking the time to change it! This was clearly not AH decision and the game deserves an accurate review, it’s easily one of the best games I’ve ever played and definitely the best game as a service!

Edit: woke up to new comments, this post reminded… Lemmy is just the same as Reddit.

Edit2: Christ I need to turn off Lemmy notifications, I’ve left this community and this was a stark reminder for me… don’t engage with a specific game community, just enjoy the fucking game!

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1787331667616829929?t=NhwAEm4fGpVJj-UyI1lrXA

Main question in title. It sounded like the majority platform for the game is PC. What's stopping the devs from just re-releasing the game on PC without Sony as the publisher? Can the devs just abandon ship and start fresh, but without Sony?

Y'all, Helldivers 2 is just so much fun. I would not have assumed at the beginning of 2024, just after completing Baldur's Gate 3, that I would be championing an always online squad shooter - but this game is just so damn enjoyable. Furthermore, the community has been so engaged and invested in the spirit of liberty that it's made me prioritize a style of game that I thought I had mostly left in my past.

Now we're in the middle of this huge nonsense with PSN and it has completely sucked all the air out of the room. I understand why people are upset and I don't agree with the shit that Sony is trying to pull. I just want to keep this magic going.

I don't have much to say other than try to maintain some empathy for Arrowhead, as this seems to be out of their hands. They genuinely seem to want to just make a kick-ass game.

Keep up the good work Helldivers.

As found on the Steam community page

So just wanted to rant about something else besides PSN. A buddy of mine wanted to play a bit as kind of a potential last hurrah so we went in to play a two player game on suicide and just immediately got overwhelmed with enemies on something we normally hold our own.

Dropped down into extreme after a few losses because we just wanted a easy win, just got overrun at the extraction multiple times with the hilltop extraction point with gobs of enemies including I think at one point 3 chargers 2 guys.

Just a wtf moment with asking what were they thinking here with this change, killing the experience and the fun.

Looks like Arrowhead might be moving forward with PSN despite "internal discussions".

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The list just goes on here, but to boil it down: Sony wants dat sweet sweet data.

Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjyll7/some_discord_updates/

Also, Spitz (a CM at AH) isn't being a jerk. The other images show them having a much better tone than yesterday.

The following is a paste of the "account linking FAQ they've posted on their discord containing time-frames for when the change kicks in. Particularly funny is the subtle "make an account in a different country" of point #3:

"Here are the questions and answers that we have received regarding mandatory account linking so far. We will update this thread with any additional info if we receive it!

**1. What’s the benefit of having a PlayStation Network Account? I don’t have a PlayStation. ** Account linking provides a consistent and reliable means of reporting, moderation, actioning and appeal for ALL Helldivers 2 players. We take online safety seriously and this is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse: by enabling the banning and suspension of players that engage in that type of behaviour.

By linking accounts, you have the benefit of our extensive support team infrastructure for reporting these bad actors (and our appeals process if you are banned/suspended). This all helps us to make Helldivers 2 a safer and more enjoyable space for everyone.

**2. Why do I need a PlayStation Network account now? I didn’t when the game launched on Steam. ** Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS™ 2, account linking was temporarily made optional. Now that the issue has been resolved, this grace period is expiring and we are reinstating the requirement to link accounts.

**3. I am currently in a country or territory that is not PSN-enabled. Can I still sign in and link an account? ** PSN requires users to register in their country or territory of residence. Individuals who are traveling, working, or studying abroad may create an account in a country or territory different from the one in which they are currently located.

**4. When is this happening? And how do I connect my PSN account to my Steam account? ** Current players on Steam: Current players on Steam will start to see the mandatory login from May 30th and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4th. New players on Steam: You will begin to see the account linking option appear when booting up Helldivers 2 from May 6th. To connect your accounts follow the prompts on screen. You will be required to link a Steam and PlayStation Network account from May 6th.

**5. How will my data for account creation be used? Is it safe? ** However you choose to play, we strive to make gaming welcoming, secure, and inclusive for everyone. We’ve created easy-to-use tools to help you take control of who you interact with, how we use your personal information, and how it is displayed and shared.

You can find more information on our privacy and safety features here: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/privacy-security-safety/

For more details about how we use your personal information, check the “Information Sharing and Transfers” section of our Privacy Policy: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/legal/privacy-policy/

**6. I already have Helldivers 2 on PS5 and Steam, do I have to make a new account for the Steam version? ** No, you do not need to make a new PlayStation Network account. You can connect your current PlayStation Network account to your Steam account.

**7. If I own Helldivers 2 on PS5 and Steam, will my progress be shared between platforms? ** No, progress on the PS5 and Steam version of Helldivers 2 remains separate at this time.

**8. How do I sign up for a PlayStation Network account? ** You can create an account online via your phone/PC browser before you launch Helldivers 2, or you can create an account online when prompted to upon launching Helldivers 2.

Support page: https://www.playstation.com/support/account/create-account-for-psn/

Direct account creation page:https://id.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/id/create_account_ca/"