Before Helldivers II there was no instance of Sony doing so. That is, the online paywall existed on PlayStation but all of Sony's consumers in the PlayStation ecosystem were treated equally with paywall. With Sony becoming a third party publisher, that is no longer the case, there is no uniformity of treatment, PlayStation consumers are getting the short end of the stick and PC gamers are not.
That is to say, You can bash Sony with sound reason today, whereas before, Sony could execuse itself behind mountains of bullshit to justify the online paywall. There is nowhere to hide today under any argumentation. It's clear cut.