In a huge win for democracy, latest Helldivers 2 patch adds "optional" PSN account linking, which is hopefully the end of that whole debacle

A new Helldivers 2 patch is here and will hopefully put the whole PlayStation Network account linking debacle to bed once and for all, as it's now been added as an explicitly "optional" setting.

Earlier this month, Helldivers 2 publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that players on PC would be required to link their Steam and PSN accounts in order to continue playing the hit shooter. Linking accounts was made optional when the game launched due to some technical difficulties, but Sony later referred to this as a "grace period" which would "now expire." However, this was met with immediate backlash as concerns were raised over what would happen to players in countries without PSN access, and exacerbated when the game was pulled from storefronts in those regions.

After a barrage of negative reviews, democracy reigned supreme and Sony reversed the decision to make account linking mandatory, stating that it "will not be moving forward." That comment has been solidified in this latest patch, as "optional account linking [is] now available in the Account section of the in-game settings," meaning it's absolutely not a requirement in order to play. Rejoice!

That's not all that the update does, however, as a few crashes have been ironed out, players should no longer get stuck on the mission screen if the host abandons them, and the AR-61 Tenderizer will now show up in the correct color scheme. Speaking of the Tenderizer, which was introduced in the Polar Patriots Warbond last week, the patch notes also state that the assault rifle "is not in the final state we are intending," and the devs are aware it "deals too little damage." 

As for other known issues, the devs are looking into players sometimes receiving "excessive" amounts of XP, Arc weapons occasionally misfiring, delays in players being awarded Super Credits and hard-earned Medals, and more.

Unfortunately though, no further word has been given today on the delisting of the shooter in certain countries. Last week, Arrowhead Game Studios' CEO, Johan Pilestedt, said that he was "speaking to our partners at PlayStation and Valve and pushing for it to be undone," and "won't rest in my desire to have it available everywhere." Although it sounds like Arrowhead isn't giving up, with the situation not yet resolved, it seems that the backlash from the whole account linking situation can't be fully left behind - even if the linking itself is now firmly optional. 

If you're just getting started in your quest to spread managed democracy, be sure to check out our beginner's guide to Helldivers 2.