For several months, player activity in Helldivers 2 had been low. The major update Escalation of Freedom failed to bring in recruits and instead drove away veteran players with its excessive difficulty.
The issues began when Sony decided to enforce mandatory PSN account linking for PC players, right when the game was at its peak, and fans were eagerly awaiting new content. Steam users were required to either link existing or create new PSN accounts, which, combined with a long wait for the update and poor balance tweaks, caused frustration in the community. The game’s rating plummeted, and as PSN access is restricted in many countries, tens of thousands of players left the game, further dropping the online.
Based on 4 128 reviews 
Based on 4 128 reviews One might think using a VPN to bypass PSN registration restrictions would work, but Sony had strict measures in place. If players linked a PSN account from a different region, and it was detected, Sony would ban both the Helldivers account and the PSN account. This fueled the community’s anger, leading to a clash between Helldivers 2 players and the game’s publisher, Sony.
What started as angry comments escalated into a review bomb where players left overwhelming negative feedback, protesting the mandatory PSN linking, which they deemed unnecessary since the game worked perfectly without it.
Fortunately, Sony revoked the demand on May 30th, and gamers got back on track, eagerly awaiting the first major update.
Players are voicing their frustration with the recent update, which changed the flamethrower, anti-tank mines, and other weapons in ways they feel have worsened the gameplay experience. Many believe that the developers are intentionally removing some of the most exciting elements of the game, diminishing the overall fun.
Because of this, Helldivers 2 has been jokingly renamed NerfDivers 2 highlighting the community’s disappointment with the developers’ choices. Players are accusing the studio of disregarding feedback from the community and making decisions without considering their opinions.
The various balance changes made over the past three months caused the player count on Steam to drop to just 20,000 while complaints continued to grow.
Game director Mikael E addressed the situation on social media, including Reddit, saying “I want to respond directly to the concerns you’ve raised about the Escalation of Freedom update. Over the past week, we’ve been listening to your feedback and reassessing the future of Helldivers 2. In short, we didn’t get it right this time. Some decisions were off, and there were bigger inconsistencies in our approach to balancing the game. We take full responsibility for that. As many of you have pointed out, it’s time for us to take action, not just make promises.”
Mikael E outlines the team’s action plan for the next 60 days, aiming to:
Balance became a hot topic after the Escalation of Freedom update, mainly due to the flamethrower nerf, which came right before a flame-themed Warbond event, frustrating players. The weapon’s reduced effectiveness against the Chargers led to a response from Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani, who acknowledged the disappointment, especially after a similar mistake earlier. Perhaps you haven’t had the time to prepare your ship for the new battles; you can fix that order an all ship modules bundle from LepreStore. A full upgrade ship will help you a lot no matter what balance edits the developers introduce; nobody can stop “Eggle” with a 500kg bomb…
Mikael E also mentions that the team is looking into creating an opt-in beta test environment to improve their testing process, calling it a high priority. Arrowhead has previously said a test server is on their “wishlist.” Additionally, the devs plan to gather more player feedback, provide detailed patch notes explaining changes, and release more in-depth blog posts for the community.
The developers didn’t just make empty promises; they launched a series of successful patches aimed at improving balance and gameplay. One of these patches Patch 01.001.100 was recently released and marked the first step in a 60-day plan to guide Helldivers 2 in a new direction.
The impact of the update is already making waves. Since its release, Helldivers 2 has seen a noticeable spike in player activity. Steam shows the game peaking at 63,798 concurrent players, a number not reached since the controversial Escalation of Freedom update. For comparison, player numbers barely topped 19,000 the day before the patch.
Steam charts
Changes
While the increase in player numbers is impressive, it’s worth noting that this patch didn’t add any new content. Instead, it focused on fixing existing issues and addressing balance problems. With the weekend approaching, there’s a chance for further growth in player numbers, though live-service games often experience gradual drops. That said, the improvements from this patch have temporarily reignited interest in the game. Now is a great time to unlock anything you haven’t completed yet; you can order a medals boost from LepreStore, which will help you finish warbond it quickly.
The game’s Steam reviews saw another noticeable shift. After the Escalation of Freedom update, reviews were mixed, but in the last 30 days, 60% of them turned positive.
The community is cautiously optimistic, as the latest buffs have restored some of the fun lost in previous updates. However, Arrowhead’s next steps still need to be clarified. For now, the changes have clearly re-engaged the players.
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