The game director of Helldivers 2 is asking the community whether it would be in good faith to release the new Warbond after the recent controversy.
After the recent controversy surrounding the requirement to link a PSN account when playing Helldivers 2, the game’s director is putting in the effort to make it up to the community.
This has taken the form of the director, who is referred to by the community using his last name of Pilestedt, asking the players if the studio should still release the new Warbond, or if they should wait to give the controversy fallout time to breathe.
To all the @helldivers2 out there.With the negative sentiment around account linking, a concern from the team came up about 'is it tone deaf to release a new (paid) warbond this soon?' and therefore we are putting it to a real vote in true democratic fashion.So please guide…
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 8, 2024
He took to X to ask this question, saying: “With the negative sentiment around account linking, a concern from the team came up about ‘is it tone deaf to release a new (paid) Warbond this soon?'”
It’s a democratic way to find a resolution, and one that fits with the themes of the game itself. Helldivers 2 satirizes the idea of democracy and how it’s used as a weapon, so to use it in this instance is a tongue-in-cheek way to engage with their fans.
It’s clear that the question is being asked as a sign of good faith to let the Helldivers 2 community that the devs still care.
It seems to be working as well, as one user comments: “The fact you’re posting this and concerned about this shows how much the devs care about the community.”
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Others taking the time to express that their frustration and mistrust is aimed at Sony, rather than the team at Arrowhead Game Studios.
There is even one person who hasn’t played the game but comes forward to speak to how “forward thinking” moves they’ve ever seen from a company.
The Helldivers 2 players have always appreciated the communication the dev team had with the players, which is why when the announcement was made about required account linking, the community was shocked by the news.
It is clear that Pilestedt, and the rest of the team at Arrowhead, are trying their best to show the community they can trust them again, and that the controversy around the account linking was hard on them as well.
At the time of writing, the poll is sitting at 74% asking for the Helldivers 2 Warbond to release on schedule, so it’s looking likely that they will release it as originally promised.