Things in the world of Helldivers 2 After that it goes back to normal Sony changed course on a controversial PSN registration requirement for the popular sci-fi shooter on the PC. But not everyone seems to have survived the PR fiasco unscathed. Arrowhead Studios community manager Spitz is apparently no longer part of the team after encouraging players to review and refund the game in an attempt to get Sony to change its mind.
“Today is a dark day,” Spitz wrote menacingly in the Helldivers 2 Discord on May 7th. Players noticed something was wrong when the Community Manager account was removed from the shipping channel used by the Arrowhead team to post updates about the latest Galactic War updates to the game. “Soo, who’s going to do the high command missions?” asked one player. “Not me,” Spitz wrote back. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The community manager had was previously missing from the Discord Shortly after players began rebelling against the return of the requirement to sign in with a PSN account before playing on Steam. Spitz initially made comments that the community’s outrage was overblown, before later pivoting to the idea that the game’s review bombing would give Arrowhead more leverage to get out of the Sony requirement.
“Players expressing their displeasure through reviews, refunds, etc. give us more influence in the discussion with Sony,” Spitz wrote in Discord on May 4. “It hurts to see the game’s popularity decline in ratings, but the discussions continue, and so do we on the players’ side in this fight.” The players moved on 150,000 negative reviews and refund requests While the game has been removed from sale on PC in hundreds of countries that do not support PSN accounts.
Sony eventually withdrew the claim, whereupon Spitz returned Helldivers 2 Discord said on May 6 that they almost lost their jobs. “Almost. Not quite,” they wrote after someone asked if they had been fired. “It turns out that asking people to review a game and refund the purchase price is not a popular decision among publishers But I’m still here and I’m glad we all made a difference.”
That no longer seems to be the case. It is unclear whether Spitz was simply moved from the community manager role to another position or whether he was fired from Arrowhead entirely. Some players have suggested that Spitz may have quit. At least a hundred players did it signed a petition for the community manager to return. “I find it really sad that people are calling for individuals to be fired,” one fan wrote on Discord. “No matter who it is, they are one person. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone can do better.”
Arrowhead and Sony did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
