Whatever happened to Helldivers 2’s review bomb cape? This unique in-game item was inspired by the review bomb campaign Helldivers 2 suffered on Steam after publisher Sony made PlayStation Network accounts mandatory for PC gamers on Valve’s platform. Developer Arrowhead decided to turn the user review history graph into a cape, which is ready for launch but has yet to release.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 11, 2024 Nearly four months since Sony’s dramatic U-turn on Helldivers 2’s PSN account requirement, the review bomb cape is still M.I.A. So, what’s the problem? As part of an impromptu AMA on the Helldivers 2 Discord, Arrowhead creative chief Johan Pilestedt said the delay has to do with a lack of clarity on Helldivers 2’s sales status in those countries in which PSN is not live and therefore remains unavailable, even now, effectively de-listed from Valve’s platform.
“We don’t want to release it until we get more clarity on the country issue,” Pilestedt said, responding to questions about the review bomb cape.
“Basically review cape is waiting for region conclusion,” he added. Then, explaining what that means, Pilestedt said: “The final decision if it will be sold in more countries.”
We don’t want to release it until we get more clarity on the country issue. Since Helldivers 2’s explosive launch across PC and PlayStation 5 earlier this year (it’s the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time with an incredible 12 million copies sold in 12 weeks), Arrowhead and Sony have butted heads on numerous occasions.
Developers at the studio have admitted that the furore around the PSN account issue caused internal stress to such a degree that it slowed development. And even now, there’s still a question mark over whether Helldivers 2 will ever be sold on Steam in the countries that lack PSN, even though the PSN account requirement was ditched. Clearly, Arrowhead has that same question.
Arrowhead has also struggled with Helldivers 2 and its fanbase since the game’s massive launch, and has had to adjust the way it works to help create post-launch content in a sustainable fashion. Still, recent updates were criticized by the game’s community, and in the AMA Pilestedt touched on the impact of that feedback.
“It’s hard,” he said. “It’s a tricky situation. The criticism is valid, but it causes low morale, and low morale causes slow development speed. Talk about a negative spiral.”
Then: “I think it’s important for us to reiterate to the team that criticism happens because people care. The worst thing would have been if we fucked up and no one cared.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
