When it comes to live-service storytelling, Helldivers 2 has pushed the concept into uncharted territory. Not only has it found a way to keep players constantly engaged without disappearing up its own lore-hole, its fiction is so effective that the story has spilled out into the real world. Earlier this month, when Sony tried to reinstate Playstation Network account linking for Steam users, the community united beneath the games' satirical banner of freedom and democracy to review-bomb it until the publisher changed its mind (which it did).
Now, former Helldiver's 2 writer Russ Nickel has gone on record to discuss how Helldivers 2's approach to storytelling led directly to this moment. Speaking to Inverse, Nickel described his amazement as the events surrounding the PSN controversy unfolded. "Just the last couple of days have been one of the most exciting parts of the experience for me. The whole community came together to say 'There are players in other countries who aren't going to be able to play the game. We're all going to stand up for each other and be this united front.'
