The recent debacle with Sony has highlighted the fact that there is a divide in the Helldivers 2 community. Despite Sony dropping the ball on its strategy for the game, many Helldivers stuck by the company, pushing back against those on PC. Checking X, Reddit, and Facebook, you can see a large number of people who supported Sony through the entire process, never once wavering to voice their admiration of the company despite their Helldiving allies being affected.
Whether it is because of a lack of understanding, being ill-informed, or ignorance, there is a clear divide that separates those who play on PlayStation from those who play on PC. During the Sony fiasco, many PC players banded together and even chose to stop playing the game to support other Helldivers who couldn’t play the game whether it was because it was taken offline in their country or because they didn’t have access to making a PSN account.
On the other side of the aisle, many PlayStation players bashed those on PC and sought to disrupt their united front. Facebook, X, and Reddit became showered with memes showcasing PC players as being whiny because they didn’t want to take the time to make an account.
This divide, which was once subtle, was amplified by Sony’s move to require a PSN account. Normally, this would not be a big ordeal as many companies require an account to be made. For instance, Microsoft requires an account for Sea of Thieves and Minecraft, Ubisoft requires one for Rainbox Six Seige, and a Battle.Net account is required for various Blizzard titles. The difference that many were highlighting in this instance is that PSN accounts can only be made in a small number of countries out of the 195 that exist.
The battle that was fought against Sony may not be completely understood by those who wouldn’t have been affected by it, but it was a hard-fought battle nonetheless. However, now that this MO has been completed, the division between the two platforms has only gotten wider and the community may feel the effects of it for a long time. After all, there are some who are saying they will not kick PC players if they join a game.