In a recent announcement by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a mandatory account linking requirement for Helldivers 2 players has sparked a wave of controversy within the gaming community. The update, set to take effect on May 30 for current players and May 6 for new players, mandates the connection of Steam accounts to PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts by June 4.
The rationale provided by Sony revolves around “safety and security” measures aimed at curbing abusive behavior and providing banned players with avenues for appeal. This move, while intended to foster a safer gaming environment, has met with significant pushback from players, particularly on platforms like Reddit where dissenting posts have proliferated since the announcement.
Helldivers 2, originally not anticipated to achieve such widespread success, quickly became one of Sony’s most successful PC launches, surpassing even established titles like Destiny 2 in concurrent player counts. Its unexpected popularity has now collided with Sony’s demand for mandatory account linking, raising questions about the company’s approach to player engagement and retention, especially in the competitive landscape of PC gaming platforms.
As discussions continue within the gaming community, questions remain about the accessibility of PSN in all regions where Steam operates. Sony’s decision has reignited debates about the balance between security measures and user autonomy, highlighting ongoing tensions in the evolving landscape of modern PC gaming.
Update: Users recently caught sony changing their own wording on their FAQ page after the backlash. Helldivers 2’s creator, Pilestedt, advised fans upset about the new account linking rule to talk to PlayStation Support.
Update 2: Sony just delisted the game from a number of countries(presumably those without PSN access) and people from those places can no longer play. Steam seems to be allowing players with even hundreds of hours to refund.
Update 3: Managed democracy wins again! Sony wen’t back on their word and won’t be requiring linking anymore. However, I couldn’t find information on them going back on the purchase ban in the countries listed previously on steam.
Why NOT to make a PSN account
Now this may be a bit of a personal bias, but, there are some factors that you should consider before just making a PSN account. First, security: Sony has shown to not be good at it. They have a long history of data leaks, services going down, etc.
- Sony BMG Rootkit Debacle – 2005: Sony’s attempt to prevent piracy through a rootkit on music CDs backfired, exposing millions of users to security vulnerabilities and sparking legal action and public outrage.
- PlayStation Network (PSN) Hack – April 2011: One of the most significant breaches in gaming history, where 77 million users’ data was compromised, including personal information and login credentials.
- Sony Online Entertainment Breach – April 2011: Concurrent with the PSN hack, this breach affected millions more accounts and exposed credit card information.
- Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack – November 2014: A cyberattack by a group called Guardians of Peace resulted in the leak of confidential emails, employee data, and unreleased films, leading to widespread embarrassment and financial losses for Sony.
- PlayStation Network DDoS Attacks – 2014 and 2016: Sony’s online gaming service was targeted by distributed denial-of-service attacks, causing disruptions and downtime for users.
- Sony Employee Data Breach – 2023: Sony notified 6,791 current and former employees that their data had been compromised by a data breach earlier in that year.
- PlayStation Network Account Phishing Scams – Ongoing: Various phishing scams targeting PSN users have been reported over the years, exploiting security gaps and user vulnerabilities.
And those aren’t even all the examples of the past 20 years, so I’d be careful giving PSN your credit card or ID information. Besides safety, however, there are those who can’t even create accounts. In fact, a huge amount of people world wide can’t: Most countries of Africa, some of Europe and Asia are simply blocked from making a PSN account. Trying to use a VPN in those places to do so results in immediate ban.
In conclusion, Sony’s recent decision to mandate the linking of Helldivers 2 accounts to the PlayStation Network has sparked controversy. While promising a bunch of things, it’s likely to cause more issues than actually improve anything.
