Helldivers 2 Drops Region Locks Amid Review Backlash

Helldivers 2 has experienced a significant resurgence in positive player reviews following Sony's decision to remove regional restrictions. Explore the details behind Helldivers 2's review score recovery, the PSN region lock controversy, and PlayStation titles returning to availability.

Helldivers 2 Freed from Sony Region Lock

Review Scores Rebound After Regional Restrictions Lifted

Player ratings for Helldivers 2, the cooperative third-person shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony, have dramatically improved within 48 hours as fans celebrate the game's "liberation from Sony's restrictions." On Reddit, a post by user Good_Policy352 advocating for reversed negative reviews garnered over 14,000 upvotes under the title "MAJOR ORDER: Change Negative Review After Region Unlock."

The regional lock controversy began over a year ago when PlayStation Network (PSN) policy changes limited access in certain regions. Sony initially mandated PSN account requirements to continue playing purchased games, sparking significant backlash from gaming communities.

Helldivers 2 players' protest escalated with the game receiving over 200,000 negative Steam reviews before Sony reversed its decision. Despite this reversal, PlayStation titles remained delisted from PC storefronts in some regions, with refunds being issued to affected players.

PlayStation Titles Reappear Following Contentious Delisting

God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Return

After months of community advocacy, Sony has quietly lifted regional bans. Helldivers 2 wasn't alone in regaining accessibility - SteamDB updates from June 13 reveal other PlayStation exclusives including God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 also had their regional restrictions removed, significantly expanding these titles' potential player bases on Steam.

Speculation persists about whether Stellar Blade's commercial success played a role in this decision, particularly given developer Shift Up's reported resistance to the restrictions. However, Sony has made no official statement confirming this, and currently there's no confirmation of additional titles following this initial group in having restrictions lifted.