| Helldivers II | |
| Developer: | Arrowhead Game Studios |
| Publisher: | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Director: | Johan Pilestedt |
| Producer: | Denis Bender Emily McGregor Heidi Nummi Eduardo Zamora Tomoyo Kimura |
| Designer: | Niklas Malmborg |
| Programmer: | Peter Lindgren |
| Composer: | Wilbert Roget II |
| Released: | 8 February 2024 |
| Genre: | Third-person shooter |
| Engine: | Autodesk Stingray |
| Modes: | Multiplayer |
Helldivers 2 is a 2024 cooperative third-person shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 and Windows. The game is the direct sequel to Helldivers, a 2015 top-down shooter.
Helldivers 2 was released on 8 February 2024 and received positive reviews from critics. The game sold in excess of 12 million copies within three months of its release, becoming PlayStation's fastest selling title of all time, as well as Sony's most successful Windows title.
Helldivers 2 is a shooter game, primarily played in the third-person, but players can enter a first-person point of view while utilizing certain weapons.[1] Players take the role of the titular "Helldivers", elite shock troops dropped from orbit onto hostile planets in bullet-shaped "Hellpods" launched from the player's "Super Destroyer" starship.
Gameplay consists of "Operations" where players must complete missions (one to three per Operation, depending on the difficulty level) in procedurally generated levels while fending off hordes of enemies, after which they can attempt to call in a "Pelican" transport ship to extract themselves and their team to their Super Destroyer. Players may choose the difficulty level of their Operations ranging from level 1 (Trivial) to the currently highest available difficulty level of 10 (Super Helldive). Players must unlock each consecutive difficulty by completing an Operation on each level. Completing higher difficulty missions results in larger gains of experience points and of an in-game currency.[2]
A core gameplay feature carried over from the first game is the use of "Stratagems" - powerful equipment which must be called in by executing a sequence of D-pad (PlayStation 5) or arrow key (Windows) presses and throwing a beacon to signal to the player's Super Destroyer in orbit. Players may select up to four Stratagems to take into the mission with them, as well as a "Booster" which affects the whole team.[3]
Helldivers 2 features cooperative multiplayer with up to four players, but does not include a dedicated single-player campaign.[4] It also provides optional cross-play between PlayStation 5 and Windows.[5] Friendly fire is always on.[6] In the initial days of release, gameplay involved staff at the studio observing players and influencing gameplay in real time.[7]
The game features a battle pass system called "Warbonds" that never expire. As of October 31, 2024, nine Warbonds have been released: "Helldivers Mobilize", "Steeled Veterans", "Cutting Edge", "Democratic Detonation", "Polar Patriots", "Viper Commandos", "Freedom's Flame", "Chemical Agents" and "Truth Enforcers".[8] [9] [10] Players can find various types of in-game currencies during gameplay: "Warbond Medals" and "Requisition Slips", which are also awarded for completing Operations, missions and game objectives; while "Super Credits" can either be found during missions or purchased via microtransactions.[11]
As players gain experience and progress in levels, they unlock different weapons and Stratagems to use during missions.[12] Players can also collect "Samples" (common, rare, and super rare) during gameplay which may be used to unlock and upgrade "Ship Modules" which alter and increase the effectiveness and mechanics of various Stratagems.[13]
By completing Operations, players also contribute to the progress of "Major Orders" issued from Super Earth. These orders are related to the Second Galactic War, of which the outcome is highly player-driven. The players collective contribution is calculated as "Liberation" or defense levels/points of planets, a percentage displayed on the Galactic Map.[14]
In November 2024, the "Democracy Space Station" (DSS) was added to the game after the player base successfully completed various Major Orders. The DSS orbits a different planet daily as voted on by the players. Players can choose the booster provided by the DSS, which impacts combat on the planet. The booster is funded by players contributing an allotment of Samples and Requisition Slips.[15]
Helldivers 2 is set a century after the triumph of "Super Earth", a self-described managed democracy, over the Cyborgs, Bugs, and Illuminate during the events of the first game. It is discovered that the Terminids' blood contains a unique and highly valuable resource known as E-710. Terminid farms are established on human-colonized worlds, but containment is eventually breached, releasing them and causing chaos and destruction. Simultaneously, a new threat emerges in the form of the Automatons, a mechanical army intent on destroying humanity. The game begins with a recruitment video for the Helldivers, who are elite shock troops dropped from orbit to reclaim the colonized planets. [16] Environmental storytelling is prevalent throughout the game, with various logs, notes, and propaganda messages available for players to find during gameplay.[17]
On 3 December 2020, Arrowhead Game Studios revealed that work had started on a new project for PlayStation 5. It was confirmed that the game would be a third-person shooter.[18] Like the first game, Helldivers 2 runs on the discontinued Autodesk Stingray game engine (originally known as Bitsquid). Arrowhead Game Studios founder Johan Pilestedt confirmed on social media that "The project started before [Stingray] was discontinued," adding, "Our crazy engineers had to do everything, with no support to build the game to parity with other engines."[19] [20]
On 13 September 2021, Helldivers 2 was mentioned in a GeForce Now leak.[21] The game was teased in a TikTok post showing Arrowhead's social media manager starting their workday, which is followed by a series of posts from fans demanding them to release the game.[22] On 18 August 2022, a 12-second clip of gameplay was leaked on Twitter, but was later removed.[23] [24]
On 24 May 2023, Helldivers 2 was announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, with a slated release of sometime in 2023.[25] On 6 July 2023, a trailer showcasing gameplay was released. On 30 July 2023, the game received an M rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for "blood and gore" and "intense violence".[26] On 14 September 2023, gameplay was shown in a PlayStation State of Play event, and it was announced that the game would release on 8 February 2024.[27] Pre-orders became available on 22 September 2023.[28] On 8 February 2024, the game was released on the PlayStation Store and Steam.[29]
Helldivers 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.
Upon release, the game experienced a large influx of players, leading to widespread server and login issues for the first two weeks of release.[30] By the third week of release, the player cap was increased to "a whopping 700,000 concurrent users" according to Wesley Yin-Poole of IGN.[31]
Aaron Bayne of Push Square described the game as "a riotous affair, offering up best-in-class gunplay" and a "truly epic and often cinematic experience, mixed in with one of the best co-op gameplay romps currently available." However, he criticized the game for the server issues and crashes that players experienced after release.
Helldivers 2 has been compared favorably to the 1997 science fiction action film Starship Troopers; both are a satirical comedy featuring a militaristic regime fighting against a race of large insectoids, and are both owned by Sony.[32] [33] The popularity of Helldivers 2 has also led to a resurgence of interest in Starship Troopers.[34] Actor Casper Van Dien, who played the character Johnny Rico in the film, reacted positively towards the game. [35]
On February 11, 2024, Johan Pilestedt, then-CEO of Arrowhead Games, announced that Helldivers 2 had sold approximately 1 million units.[36]
Helldivers 2 was the largest launch of any PlayStation Studios game available on PC.[37] Arrowhead stated that the game's success has greatly exceeded their expectations.[38] Following its initial success, Arrowhead Studios announced its intention to scale its studio and team to accelerate its post-launch content plans.[39] [40] Pilestedt reacted to the game's ongoing success by stating that he hopes to see Helldivers become considered as iconic as PlayStation's other intellectual properties such as Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon.[41]
In Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada, Helldivers 2 was the best-selling game of February 2024.[42] [43] [44] Helldivers 2 remained the best selling game in Canada in April 2024 too.[45]
By February 24, 2024, the game was estimated to have sold over 3 million units and became the most actively played game on the PlayStation Network, surpassing and Fortnite.[46] By 15 March 2024, Helldivers 2 was estimated to have sold 8 million units and reached 450,000 concurrent players on Steam.[47] By 5 May 2024, 12 million units of the game had been sold, making it PlayStation's fastest selling video game of all time.[48]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Golden Joystick Awards | Ultimate Game of the Year | [49] [50] | |
| Best Multiplayer Game | ||||
| Console Game of the Year | ||||
| Best Game Trailer (launch trailer) | ||||
| Critics' Choice Award | ||||
| The Game Awards 2024 | Best Ongoing Game | [51] | ||
| Best Community Support | ||||
| Best Action Game | ||||
| Best Multiplayer Game | ||||
At launch, Helldivers 2 did not require PC players to log into a PlayStation Network (PSN) account, allowing players to skip the integration despite a line on boot up stating that a PSN account is required. On May 3, 2024, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the PC version of Helldivers 2 on Steam would mandate users to sign in with a PSN account, taking effect for new players on May 6, 2024 and required for existing players by June 4, 2024. SIE stated that a PSN login is necessary to "[uphold] the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games", and that this requirement was not implemented at launch due to technical issues.[52] The announcement was met with criticism.[53] Additionally, many players called out that official documentation from Sony claimed that PSN accounts were optional for games on PC, with this statement changing to an ambiguous "some games" statement[54] [55] after players were directed to contact Sony support by Pilestedt.[56] On 4 May, the listing on Steam was updated to disallow sales to 177 territories where PSN is not available.[57]
Pilestedt apologized for the sudden change, stating on Twitter that "I hope we will make it up and regain the trust by providing a continued great game experience".[58] Developers inside Arrowhead Game Studios stated that they were on the side of the players and one community manager even called for the player base to negatively review the game on Steam,[59] leading to players review bombing the game; as of 4 May, nearly 53% of all posted reviews were negative,[60] [61] [62] with over 84,000 negative reviews on Steam.[63] As a result of the negative feedback, Sony announced on May 5, 2024 that it will currently not be moving forward in requiring account linking and was working with Arrowhead to find alternate solutions to protect players.[64]
By July 2024, the PC player base dropped significantly, with a reported loss of up to 90% of players on Steam, peaking at roughly 35,000 players. The player drop was attributed to the PSN account controversy, the worsening of weaponry against increasingly tougher enemies, as well as glitches and performance issues.[65] In response, Arrowhead announced a 60-day plan to address these issues. In September and October 2024, two major patches were released as part of the 60-day plan, which aimed to fix many of the performance issues as well as rolling back a whole slew of unpopular changes to weapons and gameplay. The changes were positively received by the player base, which increased to over 100,000 and reviews once again become more positively aligned.[66]