Why PC Gamers’ Outrage Over Sony and Helldivers 2’s PSN 3rd-Party Account Requirement Is Hypocritical Yet Justified

What does Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, Tropico 6, Apex Legends, Payday 3, Call of Duty, Sea of Thieves, and Helldivers 2 have in common? They all require 3rd-party accounts in order to play them in their entirety or just to access the online elements. Or, at least, it was set for Helldivers 2 to join that list thanks to Sony’s complete incompetence and greed. But while there are some PC gamers who have legitimate gripes over the mandatory PSN account for the game, the rest of the market does not. 

The current frenzy follows immediately in the aftermath of Stellar Blade’s “controversy” the gaming community witnessed Sony forcing the game to be censored, resulting in cries of false advertising, the company continues to draw the ire of gamers everywhere. But in a sector where the big developers and publishers continue to gouge gamers at every opportunity, what Sony has done is one of the more deplorable ones seen in a while. 

It’s not the fact that consumers were informed that the PSN account requirement for the third-person shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios was delayed, which is the issue. That falls on the consumer for not fully informing themselves about the game and its requirements. However, it’s the fact that Helldivers 2 was being sold in countries where consumers are unable to create a PSN account in the first place that is the real issue. Which, according to SteamDB, resulted in Helldivers 2 no longer being available for purchase in 177 countries.

While Sony has quickly backtracked on the PSN account requirement due to the backlash which resulted in Helldivers 2 receiving over 200,000 negative reviews on Steam, their apology doesn’t mean that the company won’t stop there. Like Rockstar Games, Ubisoft, and Activision have done, Sony will simply make sure that PSN linking will be working from the start and most likely shoehorn it into the next big hit and slowly go back to their older titles and update them to force gamers to make PSN accounts (Ghost of Tsushima…). 

It’s great that PC gamers have finally stood up to a big publisher to force some kind of change. Thanks largely to voices such as former video game executive Mark “Grummz” Kearn, and many other independent content creators, who spoke out about the issue. But where was that energy when it comes to the ever-encroaching 3rd party account requirement for so many other titles that has taken place over the past 10 years? 

Obviously, I am not addressing this question to Kearn and the content creators who unleashed a barrage of social media posts and videos talking about Sony and Helldivers 2. The majority of them were not active or prominent 10 years ago. I am asking you, the PC gamer, who has allowed your rights as a consumer to be eroded over that time – what have you done to protest 3rd party accounts being required on Steam?

Despite mainstream video game news outlets downplaying the issues with 3rd party account requirements, and using that to mock PC Gamers outraged over Helldivers 2, there are legitimate gripes to be made. 3rd party accounts use up PC resources, provides another vector of attack for hackers which was a main argument from PC gamers over Helldivers 2, will prevent games from running if something goes wrong on the company’s end, and is used to track consumers while selling their information to other companies such as Facebook. 

It certainly isn’t for security and combating hackers and cheaters which is the number one argument that developers and publishers make to justify releasing their proprietary launchers. Anyone who plays Grand Theft Auto Online or a Call of Duty game can attest to the lack of efficacy when it comes to cheaters and hackers.

So where is the evidence that third party accounts such as Rockstar Games Social Club, Activision Account, Paradox Interactive,  EA Account, Ubisoft Connect Launcher, XBOX Live, Paradox Account, and Kalypso Media Account are equally or more effective than what Valve’s Steam platform already provides? I would hypothesize that there is very little difference made when it comes to hacking and cheating. In fact, the argument to make is that these 3rd party accounts are a hindrance for the consumer, a minor nuisance for the cheaters, and a boon for publishers.

The 3rd party account requirement has nothing to do with combating cheating and piracy. As always, it is about control of the IP and monetizing it any way they can. Which is why developers and publishers over the past 20 years continued to combat consumer rights and game ownership when it comes to video games. But it has gotten out of hand when a consumer buys a game on Steam only to then be forced to create an account for another launcher that will use up more resources and spy on them. 

It is great to see PC gamers finally taking a stand and watching Sony capitulate. But, in the overall scheme, it means little. Especially since, up until now, PC Gamers have done little to affect the market that has driven anti-gamer and anti-consumer practices. 

Make no mistake, Sony is going to make sure that all PC releases will eventually require a PSN account to play them. It wouldn’t surprise me that in six months, they might just release an update for Helldivers 2 that will finally make it a requirement. Though, this claim depends on whether or not Helldivers 2 is still being sold in countries where a PSN account is not available. Which is interesting because, one would think, that this controversy should open Sony up to a major lawsuit from those countries.

Suffice to say, good job PC gamers. You won, but it means very little. Especially if your outrage and cries of protest ends here.

Will you boycott all Sony games that will require a PSN account? How will you react if Ghost of Tsushima requires a PSN account? Will you finally start boycotting all the other 3rd party accounts in existence?

Will you boycott Grand Theft Auto VI when it comes out since it will require a 3rd party account?

The PC community needs to take a hard look at itself and decide if this is where it stops or if this will continue. And, after reflecting, the real question to ask is, why should the Valve Corporation allow 3rd party accounts to be a requirement on its Steam platform? Yes, your outrage over Helldivers 2 was justified, but it is also hypocritical. Especially if your outrage over this stops here.

Make a real stand and cause some real change in this industry.

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