Issues on this planet of Helldivers 2 are going again to regular after Sony reversed course on a controversial PSN login requirement for the favored sci-fi shooter on PC. However not everybody seems to have made it out of the general public relations fiasco in a single piece. Arrowhead Studios group supervisor Spitz is seemingly now not part of the workforce after encouraging gamers to review-bomb and refund the sport to get Sony to vary its thoughts.
“In the present day is a darkish day,” Spitz ominously wrote within the Helldivers 2 Discord on Might 7. Gamers started to note one thing was up when the group supervisor’s account was faraway from the dispatch channel the place the Arrowhead workforce drops lore bites round latest in-game Galactic Struggle updates. “Soo Who gonna do the high-command-dispatches,” requested one participant. “Not me,” Spitz wrote again. They didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The group supervisor had beforehand been lacking from the Discord shortly after gamers began revolting in opposition to the return of a requirement that they log right into a PSN account earlier than enjoying on Steam. Spitz initially made feedback that the group outrage was overblown earlier than later pivoting to the concept that overview bombing the sport would give Arrowhead extra leverage to get out of the Sony requirement.
“Gamers making their displeasure recognized by opinions, refunds and so on. offers us extra pull within the dialogue with Sony,” Spitz wrote in Discord on Might 4. “It hurts to see the sport’s recognition endure in rankings, however discussions are ongoing and we’re on the facet of gamers on this battle.” Gamers proceeded to depart over 150,000 damaging opinions and request refunds whereas the sport was faraway from sale on PC in a whole bunch of nations that don’t help PSN accounts.
Sony finally backed off the requirement, after which Spitz returned to the Helldivers 2 Discord on Might 6 to say they’d nearly misplaced their job. “Virtually. Not fairly,” they wrote after somebody requested in the event that they’d been fired. “Seems that telling folks to review-bomb and refund a recreation isn’t a well-liked determination with the writer. However I’m nonetheless right here and I’m glad that all of us made a distinction.”
That now not appears to be the case. It’s unclear if Spitz was merely moved from the group supervisor function to a special place or was fired from Arrowhead fully. Some gamers have instructed Spitz might have stop. At the very least 100 gamers have signed a petition for the group supervisor to return. “I discover it actually unhappy that persons are calling for people to be fired,” wrote on fan on the Discord. “Regardless of who it’s, they’re an individual. Everybody makes errors and everybody can do higher.”
Arrowhead and Sony didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.