Helldivers 2 has been a huge hit this yea,r with a consistent player base since its launch in February and a peak of over 450,000 players. Fighting for Super Earth, players have been waging war against monstrous insects and deadly robots and laying down their lives for democracy. But the game’s reputation took a hit recently when it was announced that PC players would have to register for a PlayStation Network account to continue playing the game — a move that would have left players in parts of the world with no PSN support high and dry.
In response, there was a major outcry (and review bombing of the game on Steam) in response, which led Sony and Arrowhead Game Studios to swiftly alter their policies to appease the player base. The entire ordeal has been a bit of a whirlwind, so it’s OK if you’re a little lost. Here’s what you need to know.
No, you don’t need a PSN account to play Helldivers 2 right now.
Sony and Arrowhead Game Studios ultimately reversed course on the update that would have required players to sign up for PSN.
“Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account-linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward,” PlayStation stated on X. “We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2, and we’ll keep you updated on future plans.”
Helldivers fans — we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 6, 2024
The whole situation has revealed an issue for studios tackling live service games: It’s an unforgiving business model.
“When you make a live service game, you’re signing a risky contract. You might make a fortune, but you’ll forever be at the mercy of fans who can turn the valve off anytime they want,” wrote Digital Trends’ Senior Gaming Editor Giovanni Colantonio in an article breaking down the controversy. “It doesn’t matter if players are lashing out in good or bad faith. A small mistake could be all it takes to crush the community’s trust for good. Once you lose that, you don’t have a game anymore.”
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.