Despite Winning the Dispute Against Sony About PlayStation Network, HELLDIVERS 2 is Still Blocking Countries from Purchase

Following a recent controversy that led to HELLDIVERS 2 receiving negative reviews (and then promptly changing it at a seemingly record pace for big companies), Sony isn't done with making changes to the way it handles its sales. Now, the controversy has gotten a bit more complex, and some gamers are starting to pick up on it.

As a refresher, Sony was going to add PlayStation Network to its increasingly famous shooter, and as a response, was hit by a wave of negative reviews. Divers stood together to bomb the game for forcing a requirement three months after release, and many were going to lose access to the game. It got so bad, in fact, that retail companies began issuing refunds to the restricted countries that would lose access to it, and due to that, Sony retracted their previous plan, but they didn't quite change their course of action, it seems.

On the 4th of May, 177 countries were restricted from purchasing HELLDIVERS 2, and though it seemed like that was all fixed, they were never returned to purchase. Many speculated this would be an issue from Valve's side on Steam, though with the changes on the 10th of May, Sony banned the Baltics (another set of countries that can't create a PlayStation Network account). That means that Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia all join the countries that can no longer purchase HELLDIVERS 2, making the new total 180.

This has also affected numerous divers who would play the game from Steam library sharing, as those who played from an account owned by someone else can no longer access it. Since these players can also no longer purchase the game, that means that many have spent dozens of hours in the experience and can no longer play it — shared on both the r/Helldivers and r/Steam communities are two users who were affected by this, having 52.6 hours and 86.2 hours respectively.

It is unclear what path Sony intends to take with these changes. Whether PlayStation Network will be making a comeback in a different form in HELLDIVERS 2 or the countries ever restored is still something that we're unaware of, but we'll keep our eyes open for any further updates.