Summary
Helldivers 2players arereallymad at developer Arrowhead Game Studios, or at least, more than usual. Despite a triumphant launch as 2024’s best-selling game in the United States and receiving largely positive critical reception, its last few months have been coloured with disappointment and outrage.
The game has already been review bombed multiple times – firstover server issues, then because ofthe PSN controversy, and then again last week because ofbalance issues and nerfs. Now, players are so angry that some are intentionally trying to sabotage Helldivers 2’s meta game by refusing to play the game in the way it’s meant to be played.
What exactly does this mean? Well, the entire point of the Galactic War is to defend Super Earth from its extraterrestrial enemies, the Automatons and the Terminids. Liberating planets in a sector from either faction’s influence keeps them away from Super Earth. Right now, the Automatons are separated from Super Earth by just one sector.
Under normal circumstances, this would be cause for alarm, but right now, many players are throwing their hands up and sitting back to see what happens if they just don’t do anything. Will the invasion actually reach Super Earth, or will Arrowhead’sgame master Joelfind a way to stop the Automaton advance? What happens if theydoreach Super Earth – does the game end?Would players have to defend Super Earth? It’s unclear where Arrowhead will move from here, or even how it could feasibly work around this protest if it turns out to be an effective one.
If Arrowhead plays its cards right, though, it might not have to deal with all of this. Game director Mikael Eriksson hasposted a 60 day planto the game’s subreddit, saying that the studio owns that it “didn’t hit our target with the latest update” and that there are “fundamental inconsistencies in our approach to game balance and game direction”. The plan laid out says the studio will “re-examine our approach to balance”, update the fire damage mechanic, rework excessive ragdolling, create a plan to make combat more engaging, re-prioritise bug fixes, improve game performance, and reworkChargers.
Some “bigger picture” changes include exploring an opt-in beta test environment to improve testing processes, posting regular player surveys, improving processes for patch and release notes, and creating more blog posts and streams to expand on the context and reasoning behind changes.
… But Helldivers 2 Players Aren’t Satisfied
This post hasn’t exactly gone over well with players. Players are saying they’ve already heard this all before, they’ll believe it when they see it, and that Arrowhead is bringing up feedback that has been acknowledged before but never acted on. It seems the company has good intentions, but much of its goodwill with its community has been lost over months of what players perceive as inaction.
This is not as easy an issue to fix as the last two times the game was review bombed. The first time, fixing the servers did the trick, since that was the only major problem. The second time, getting Sony to reverse its PSN policy galvanised its fans to rescind their negative reviews – there was even an organic community movement to get players to change their reviews back to positive ones. But there’s no quick fix for regular, unpopular nerfs, neglecting to rework specific things despite persistent negative feedback, and making the community feel like they’re not being listened to. This is a much deeper issue, and I suspect it will take much longer than two months to regain the player base’s trust.
I don’t blame Arrowhead for what’s happening right now – making games is hard. No studio ever sets out to anger its player base, and I’m sure the developers are doing the best they can with the resources they have. But unfortunately, the players won’t see it that way, and 60 days is a long time to turn a live-service game around. I’m not completely sure that Arrowhead will be able to turn this ship around any time soon, and it’s unclear what this declining player approval will mean for Helldivers 2’s future.
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.
Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.
Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.
Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.
Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1
Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
