"Ouch, right in the review score": Helldivers 2 boss responds to 20,000+ negative Steam reviews sparked by Sony's PSN mandate, says "I guess it's warranted"

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Helldivers 2 is about to actually start enforcing its previously stated requirement for players on Steam to sign in with a PlayStation account, and to put it mildly, the community isn't taking it well. After 20,000 negative reviews in less than 24 hours, the game's developers say they get why players are upset.

"Ouch, right in the review score," CEO and creative director Johan Pilestedt says on Twitter, sharing an image of the game's recent Steam review average, which has dropped precipitously over the past day. "Well, I guess it's warranted. Sorry everyone for how this all transpired. I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience. I just want to make great games!"

The devs have reminded players that "it's Sony's decision, not ours" amid the PSN backlash, but that hasn't done much to settle the community down. Sony is, of course, the publisher of Helldivers 2, even on PC, and has a vested interest in getting as many players into its account ecosystem as possible. That's doubly true with PC ports of games like Ghost of Tsushima on the horizon, which will be the first Sony-published PC game to offer PSN features like trophies and friends lists.

"It's sad of course, and not representative of what people truly think about the game," community manager Twinbeard says on Discord in response to the negative reviews, "but that's sth [sic] that can happen when people are frustrated with something. I hope the tide will turn back as things get ironed out and we hopefully will get more info."

Check out our guide to the Helldivers 2 Polar Patriots Warbond for more on the game's latest content.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

Read more
Helldivers 2 Killzone skins
Arrowhead CEO addresses Helldivers 2 Killzone crossover prices, admits this didn't hit "the sweet spot" and says "we will persevere and improve things in due course"
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
After a year of PSN controversy, balance woes, and a 63-day recovery effort, Helldivers 2 devs say "we've been on a rollercoaster, but we're also in an extremely privileged position to be on this rollercoaster"
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
Helldivers 2 lead thought it would bang, but not that hard: "We were prepared for having 150,000 players peak CCU"
Helldivers 2 Killzone crossover artwork with helldivers dressed in Helghast armor
"We've been listening to the response" - Helldivers 2 is making amends with fans upset over crossover prices by giving away Killzone 2 items for free
Helldivers 2
"I think life should be interesting": Helldivers 2's game director explains why Arrowhead's "rollercoaster" year was a "privilege," not a curse
Spider-Man 2 PC
Months after the Helldivers 2 fiasco, Sony drops PlayStation Network requirements on PC just in time for Spider-Man 2 and promises free stuff to get people to sign up instead
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
A screenshot of Human Torch in his Marvel Rivals reveal trailer
New Marvel Rivals balance patch only tweaks "a handful of heroes" to maintain the "rich diversity" of the shooter's current strategies, but it also includes a much-needed buff for Human Torch
Marvel Rivals Spider-Man
Spider-Man has become every Marvel Rivals player's worst nightmare
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Arrowhead reveals the Helldivers 2 ideas left on its cutting room floor, from 5-player squads to low-gravity planets and a whole new armor system
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"
Marvel Rivals Clone Rumble
Marvel Rivals' new Clone Rumble mode sounds like the kind of absolute chaos multiplayer games need more of
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"