Thousands of negative Steam reviews hit Helldivers 2 after players learn they need a PSN account to continue playing

Helldivers 2 is seeing thousands of negative user reviews come in through Steam, just hours after players learned that linking to an active PSN account is mandatory. 

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced today that Helldivers 2 players on Steam will soon be required to link their in-game profiles to a PlayStation Network account - a feature that was optional at launch due to "technical issues" - or risk losing access to the game. SIE explained that account linking allows players to take advantage of "safety and security" provided by PlayStation, as it can more easily protect folks from "griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behavior."

Many Steam players haven't responded well to the news. As of the time of writing, over 2,500 negative user reviews have been submitted to the game's storefront page today, blemishing an otherwise spotless "Very Positive" rating. Some reviews cite data harvesting and security concerns as potential worries. Others point to the fact that Sony waited months after launch to make account linking mandatory. 

How this affects players in regions that don't have access to the PlayStation Network is a bigger concern, though. In the Helldivers 2 Discord, community manager Thomas 'Twinbeard' Petersson said they aren't yet sure what these rule changes meant for players in areas without PSN access, which could be another factor contributing to the negative downturn. 

It's worth noting that many Steam games force players to link to an external account. For instance, multiplayer pirateventure Sea of Thieves asks players to link to an Xbox account, whether they're playing on PC or PS5, but the Helldivers 2 requirement coming months post-launch seems to have caught some players by surprise.

Elsewhere, Helldivers 2 players have discovered giant underground tunnels which could tease the return of the Hive Lords.