Helldivers 2 – Steam Issuing Refunds Following PSN Account Linking Backlash

Helldivers 2 has had a hell of a few days. Sony announced last week that going forward, PC players would need to link their Steam accounts with PlayStation Network in order to be able to play Arrowhead Game Studios’ mega hit, and the decision was met with instant, widespread backlash. Over the last three days, the co-op shooter has accumulated over 200,000 user reviews on Steam, with its Recent Reviews average plummeting to Overwhelmingly Negative. That has also been accompanied by many users getting refunds issued for their purchase of the game.

In fact, Steam seems to be disregarding its own refund policies with Helldivers 2. Usually, players are allowed to get refunds for their games with no questions asked as long as their play time in that game is under two hours. Many Helldivers 2 players have, however, reported getting their refunds approved with play times much higher than two hours, ranging from anywhere between nearly 100 hours to as high as over 200 hours.

For many, of course, the issue is that with PlayStation Network not being available in several countries around the world, thanks to its new account linking requirements, the game becomes virtually inaccessible in those regions. Interestingly enough, Sony has also taken the game off sale in those countries.

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO and Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt has said the developer is currently “talking solutions with PlayStation, especially for non-PSN countries.” Read more on that through here.