Helldivers 2, a man yelling in a suburban street, blood on his uniform.

Why Was Helldivers 2 Removed From the Steam Store?

Chris McMullen

Published: May 7, 2024 08:02 am

In a shocking move, the PC version of Helldivers 2, Sony’s co-op shooter, became unavailable for purchase in many countries. So, why was Helldivers 2 removed from the Steam Store?

Why Was Helldivers 2 Removed from the Steam Store?

Helldivers 2 was removed from the Steam Store in over 170 countries because the game was going to require a PSN account. If you’ve missed out on the drama and Sony’s lack of foresight, I’ll bring you up to date.

Helldivers 2 hit PC and PS5 in February, being a multiplayer riff on Starship Troopers. It was so popular that there were even fake Steam Helldivers 2 pages trying to scam people.

The original listing reportedly made mention of the game requiring a PSN account on PC, but that wasn’t enforced until a few days ago when Sony announced it was making it compulsory. There was widespread backlash, including review bombing.

Then, on May 5th, the game was pulled from Steam stores in over 170 countries (via SteamDB) because of this PSN requirement. More specifically, it was pulled from countries where Sony’s PlayStation Network is not available.

Why? Because if you couldn’t create a PSN account in those countries and Helldivers 2 required one, you wouldn’t be able to play the game. It’s not clear what Sony’s plan was for those areas. But Steam would likely have to agree to refunds for all copies of the game purchased in those countries, regardless of playtime.

Is Helldivers 2 Back on the Steam Store?

Helldivers 2 wasn’t removed globally, and Sony has since backtracked on the PSN requirement. However, going by SteamDB, the game still seems to be unavailable in some, if not all, of those 170+ countries. I’d expect access to be restored, but I doubt Helldivers 2 fans are going to forget this any time soon.

So, Helldivers 2 was removed from the Steam Store in some countries because its PSN login requirement would have made it unplayable.

Helldivers 2 is available on PlayStation and PC.

Helldivers 2

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Author

Chris McMullen

Contributing Writer

Chris McMullen is a freelance contributor at The Escapist and has been with the site since 2020. He returned to writing about games following several career changes, with his most recent stint lasting five-plus years. He hopes that, through his writing work, he settles the karmic debt he incurred by persuading his parents to buy a Mega CD. Outside of The Escapist, Chris covers news and more for GameSpew. He's also been published at such sites as VG247, Space, and more. His tastes run to horror, the post-apocalyptic, and beyond, though he'll tackle most things that aren't exclusively sports-based. At Escapist, he's covered such games as Infinite Craft, Lies of P, Starfield, and numerous other major titles.