Arrowhead studio head and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt said that the developers knew about the need to create an account on the PlayStation Network six months before the game's release.
As the CEO of the studio explained on social networks, it was he who decided to disable the linking of accounts at the launch of Helldivers 2:
I do have a part to play. I am not blameless in all of this — it was my decision to disable account linking at launch so that players could play the game. I did not ensure players were aware of the requirement and we didn't talk about it enough. We knew for about 6 months before launch that it would be mandatory for online PS titles.
When gamers asked what users from countries without PSN support should do, Johan Pilested answered literally: «I don't know.» According to him, right now Arrowhead is discussing with Sony the conditions for players from these regions.
Let us remind you that tonight Helldivers 2 was removed from sales on Steam for countries where it is impossible to create a PlayStation Network account.