Helldivers 2 has managed to be a breakthrough success in a way that few could have reasonably predicted. As a sequel to a decent but barely-impactful isometric shooter it’s managed to find an enormous foothold and prove the live-service formula can work in a way that’s beneficial to players and developers/publishers alike, especially against the latest live-service disaster in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Having peaked at over 450,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, and consistently pushing servers to the point that developer Arrowhead spent a great deal of time post-launch just playing catch-up, it’s now been reported that sales of the game are potentially over 8 million copies and counting.
That comes from TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz, as shared over at Bloomberg, though it is just an estimate at this stage as official numbers have not been revealed. “We believe the game has performed well ahead of expectations,” Creutz reportedlty shared in a note.
On Steam, the meme-worthy, cooperative third-person shooter game ‘Helldivers 2’ reached a peak of more than 450,000 concurrent players, making it one of the year's early surprise hits https://t.co/9RW33FRf7h
— Bloomberg (@business) March 15, 2024
Helldivers 2 has just launched its first post-release Premium Warbond, the game’s take on the “battle pass” format that can be purchased with a currency either earned in-game or paid for using real cash. The difference in this game being that Warbonds aren’t time-limited and, at least currently, the payout of the Super Credits required to unlock them is fairly generous in-game.
We gave Helldivers 2 a huge 9/10 in our full review, with Edward writing “Helldivers 2 is a masterstroke, a sensational sequel to one of my favourite games and an absolute must play for people who enjoy simple, cinematic, and irreverent fun. The shift in perspective, the upgraded graphics and sound design, and the hard lean into satirical humour have launched it easily into one of my favourite games of 2024. I highly recommend that you suit up and hit the Hellpods soldier, I’m doing my part, are you?”
