Helldivers 2 has really been going through it recently. Waves of negative reviews battered Arrowhead’s galactic shooter after its Steam/PSN account linking mandate, and one of the game’s community managers, ‘Spitz’, was caught in the crossfire. After seemingly being fired from their role, Helldivers 2 players have now started up a petition to get them rehired.
Since February, Helldivers 2 has coasted as one of the best co-op games on PS5, thanks to Arrowhead’s rapid pace for debuting post-launch content. In a bid to ease concerns after Sony’s decision to force Steam players to make a PSN account, community manager Spitz ensured that players were heard. However, Spitz’s approach could be seen as a catalyst for the game’s critical annihilation when it comes to PlayStation Store and Steam reviews.
In a post on the multiplayer game’s Discord server on Friday, May 3, 2024, Spitz expressed that they “don’t like the requirement to link to a third-party account, either. As a consumer, l’d be just as upset.” Furthermore, Spitz appeared to encourage players to vent their frustrations via other means: “Myself and the other community managers are passing on the feedback and community response regardless, but if you’re upset, there are better places to make yourself heard than in here.”
While this was a well-intentioned message, Spitz’s approach has seemingly led to the termination of their employment. In a more recent Discord message, Spitz’s Discord role has been demoted to that of a player, with the caption “today is a dark day.” To try to bring Spitz back into the Helldivers 2 fold, a petition launched by ‘Elcorvo Loco’ is asking for signatures to present to Arrowhead Game Studios.
Making their passion known for one of the best PS5 games around, the petition’s description claims that Spitz “was the reason many Helldivers felt optimistic about returning to the game – and is most likely the reason many of us didn’t attempt a refund.”
Additionally, the petition implores Arrowhead to “return this icon to their previously held position in recognition of his bold Community Management strategy, which not only worked, but restored the faith of much of your community.” At the time of writing, Arrowhead is yet to address Spitz’s dismissal.
In other gaming news, The Finals’ latest update finally introduces the long-awaited goth skin, and you can play 4 seasons worth of Destiny 2 content for free right now.