"We listened to our accounting, and the massive wave of refunds and unbought mtx is hurting our numbers. PR isn't happy about the reviews either. We'll keep you updated on future plans for fucking you over!
Do you really think that Sony will actually back down? They are calming down the shitstorm that is going over all media, socials and steam. They'll reorganize and will move on with their plans. Arrowhead and Helldivers is just one of many assets.
The review bombing was serious but I'd eat my hat if this stunt cut revenue by more than 10%. I don't have anything for Helldivers but here's an article about Dragons Dogma 2
It means the two million people playing it now have to get emails, promotions, and keep sony products in their mind.
They obviously didn't think it would be popular. Just like Wizards of the Coast when they tried to put out a new license that said "anything with the words 'dungeons and dragons' on it becomes our intellectual property", they assumed that pissing off their entire fanbase would be net positive because people will keep buying their stuff no matter how bad it gets.