It's afraid. It's afraid!

It’s probably the refund.

You're likely right. If I recall correctly, the decision to do a refund is entirely steam's and the publisher has no choice but to foot the bill because of steam's tos. To add to that, refunds don't include the 30% cut steam makes on the sale, so the publisher actually loses that money if they have to cover a refund.
Say the game costs $50. Steam takes $15 of that and the other $35 goes to the publisher. If steam decides a refund is in order, the publisher must pay back all $50.
So yeah, Sony was losing money for every copy that got refunded due to a reason steam found justified. Given the sheer publicity of this whole thing, someone up top probably realized that if they carried through with it it'd cost way more than the pennies they'd squeeze per player by force linking their accounts.
People shit talk steam being a tyrannical monopoly all the time, but they are pretty consistent when it comes to treating their users fairly. This is a prime example of steam using its leverage to stop something really shitty.
- I love steam. I'm okay with the monopoly until it stops protectecting its users.
- I watched a few videos of some indie dev team as they released a game. It basically boiled down to wishlisting is a huge plus, and issuing refunds is the biggest thing you can do to hurt a company.
- So what you are saying is... refund the game. Then buy it again? ;)
Steam might not have considered refunds if it wasn't for the tidal wave of negative feedback. So users' collective action is worth something.
Honestly if steam did not start issuing refunds, I dont think that Sony would have changed their mind.
Yeah especially all the people that bought it in countries now delisted. And in the EU..
There is some upcoming drama around the crew.. in the question if the company was clear enough in communicating that the game could be disabled. As even though their eula says one thing.. these things need to be made extra explicit if you want to be able to enforce it.. it goes to ownership.
- What was the plan exactly? Force gamers into the Sony ecosystem, overload their email with advertising, make them switch to playstation and profit? Sounds like something the marketing guys would dream up.

Just don't forget to give the game a positive review now that Sony backpedalled. That way we can be ready for next time.

Emmm not really. They haven't regained trust by simply backpedalling on a very stupid decision.
- It's not about trust, of course they don't deserve trust. It's about showing them that players have influence when it comes to their bottom line and that they can't just get away with anything they want to do without it hurting their main objective.
  In other words, be nice to the community and they are going to be nice to you. Be shitty to the community and they are going to be so shitty towards you that it hurts your profits. That's the only motivation that makes them go back on something that they want to do.
  If they think that people are going to behave negatively towards them and review bomb their games regardless of how they act, they will just keep acting however they want.
- Especially if this much backslash (and extraordinary steam refunds) was needed for them to reevaluate their choices
No. Find ways to say "this is why I didn't buy (unrelated Sony product). I didn't go see (movie made by Sony pictures), I bought other brand's consumer electronics instead of Sony, I'm not even entertaining the thought of buying (game somehow owned by Sony) because look at what they pulled with Helldivers 2. Sony's brand is that of betrayal and I don't want to be betrayed."
Actually do this, and say on product reviews that you are doing this, until the news gets bored of reporting "Another Sony executive found dead at his desk."
Then it might get better.
Good idea. Then they know backpeddling works, and thus any initial decision has no consequences.
You must be a genius!
- Arrowhead deserves a second chance. It’s a great game.

Hmm. This specific meme makes me wonder if its creator doesn't quite grasp the inherent satire of the source material...

I'd say the choice of format is driven more by the similarity between ST and HD, and less about an accurate analogy with the source material
- Fair, though this specific one hit a little closer to home considering its topic and the source material.
That's not really how memes work. Or do you comment that every time you see that steven crowder douche? Actually steven crowder doesn't play mario kart on the wii, therefore he would never debate you.
- Well, memes are a complex phenomenon, but anyway adding more depth by using contextually related material never hurts
- When the only swimming pool around is also the kiddie pool, the adults invariably risk wading into floating turds like your gem, kiddo. Your internet high fives from other shit muppets aren't the accolades you think they are. Stay in school.
What movie is it? Is it worth watching?
- Starship Troopers. Yes it's worth watching. It's both an excellent satire of a society dominated by its military (it's portrayed as if it's an in-universe propaganda film) and an extremely well crafted action film.
  It was directed by Paul Verhoeven, the same guy who directed RoboCop and Total Recall.
- If you play Helldivers, you have to watch Starship Troopers.
  HD takes its tone, premise, and many more things from that movie (and a bit from the book the movie satirizes).
- It's Starship Troopers, one of the inspirations for Helldivers, afaik
  It was good when I last watched it, but that was quite a while ago, the movie is from 1997, after all
- Oh you're in for a treat!