Nearly three months after the launch of Helldivers 2, Sony is now requiring all PC players to link their Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account.
According to a statement attributed to Sony Interactive Entertainment, this was always the intention but technical issues at the launch of Helldivers 2 allowed for these linking requirements to be temporarily optional.
"That grace period will now expire," Sony wrote. While Helldivers 2 may seem perfectly fine right now without having to link the two accounts, Sony insists it "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," the company explained.
Starting May 6, all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Current players will begin to see the mandatory login starting May 30th and will be required to link their accounts by June 4th.
"We understand that while this may be an inconvenience to some of you, this step will help us to continue to build a community that you are all proud to be a part of," Sony wrote.
Naturally, this forced account linking has been met with extreme backlash by the Helldivers 2 PC community. Players have threatened to quit the game over the new mandate and demand refunds. They've also resorted to the review bombing. According to SteamDB, Helldivers 2 received over 14,000 negative reviews since Sony's announcement.
Arrowhead CEO Johaan Pilstedt has released a statement in response to the fan outcry, acknowledging the surge in negative reviews and apologizing "for how this all transpired." He hopes he can make it up to angered fans by continuing to provide a great game experience.
He also directed any players with concerns over account linking to PlayStation support.
Released in February for PlayStation and PC, Helldivers 2 was one of the gaming industry's biggest success stories of the year. The cooperative third-person shooter — a sequel to 2015's Helldivers — was met with glowing reviews and incredible sales with over 8 million units sold within the first two months.