Sony Interactive Entertainment says it is working with Valve after Helldivers 2 and Horizon Forbidden West disappeared from new Steam purchases in the United Kingdom, Great Britain and the Isle of Man during the September 16–17 incident. Players who already owned the games could still install and play them from their libraries.

Sony says it is working with Valve on the UK Steam issue

Sony described the situation as an issue affecting the availability of selected titles on Steam in the UK. On September 16, the company said it was working with Valve to address the problem and apologized for the inconvenience.

The statement did not explain why the listings disappeared or provide a date for restoring them. The incident affected more than one Sony-published game: Horizon Forbidden West disappeared alongside Helldivers 2.

What UK Steam users could and could not do

The restriction applied to new purchases, not to access for people who already had the games in their Steam libraries:

  • New customers in the United Kingdom, Great Britain and the Isle of Man could not purchase Helldivers 2 on Steam during the incident.
  • Existing owners could install and launch the game from their libraries.
  • The same purchase-availability issue also affected Horizon Forbidden West.
  • The games remained available on Steam outside the affected UK territories during the reported incident.

That makes this a storefront-access problem rather than a shutdown of Helldivers 2. The game itself continued to run for existing owners, including those checking their libraries after the listing disappeared.

Why Helldivers 2 is the more visible case

Helldivers 2 is a third-person, squad-based shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony. It launched on PS5 and PC in 2024 and later reached Xbox Series X|S in 2025.

Its Steam description centers on squad combat, firearms, stratagems—special equipment or support actions called in during missions—and friendly fire. It also carries content warnings for blood and dismemberment. That combination of cooperative play and persistent online activity makes the difference between losing a store listing and losing access to an owned game especially important for players.

Sony's response puts the next action with Sony and Valve, who are working together on the Steam availability issue.