Arrowhead’s chaotic alien shooter Helldivers 2 became the fastest-selling PlayStation game ever, but despite its initial success, player numbers have since been declining.
A look at the game’s Steam charts shows a steady decline since the game launched in February. According to SteamDB, at its peak in February shortly after launch, there were 458,709 concurrent players. By comparison, its 30-day high is 166,305. That’s a 64 percent drop.
Looking at average players, February had 208,303 helldivers in the game. This average number of players dropped to 78,634 over the last 30 days (down 62 percent).
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Of course, the number of players is expected to decrease over time. But for Helldivers 2, there are a number of factors that may have contributed to this drop.
The most notable reason is the infamous PSN debacle that kicked off earlier this month. In early May, Helldivers 2 publisher Sony announced that Steam players will soon need to link their PlayStation Network (PSN) account to continue playing the game. Not only did this lead to a number of negative reviews from a very disappointed community, but the game was also pulled from sale in 177 countries where PSN was not available.
Sony soon backtracked on its plans, saying it was “still learning what’s best for PC gamers”, calling the monumental outpouring of feedback “invaluable”.
Another contributing factor to the game’s player decline could be balancing, which Arrowhead’s newly appointed creative director and chairman of the board Johan Pilestedt previously admitted the team sometimes took too far. Additionally, the game occasionally encountered bugs and other issues that frustrated players.
In response, the Helldivers 2 team is now considering a “slightly lower” but higher standard update frequency after a busy first few months.
While player numbers have undeniably fallen, Helldivers 2 remains popular, and Pilestedt believes the game’s success isn’t down to price (Helldivers 2 currently retails for a relatively modest £34.99 on Steam).
Earlier this week, Pilestedt spoke at the Nordic Game conference where he talked about the “smash hit” status of Helldivers 2. Here he said that Arrowhead managed to get the “basics” right and deliver on the “fantasy” of the experience. While many others have previously created shooters like Helldivers 2, Pilestedt said his team “immersed themselves in the believability of what it would be like to be in this game.”
Pilestedt also stated that Helldivers 2 is in many ways an authentic experience and doesn’t put up obstacles that aren’t actually there. “How many strikes in Star Wars does it take to cut someone’s arm off with a lightsaber? It’s one,” he said. “It’s crucial that we stick to the fantasy… OK, balance it, but don’t make two big balls out of it. I know that’s not true, and now we’re not making a Star Wars game.”
Another factor that contributed to the success of Helldivers 2 is its style, with the developer stating that the game is “a representation of those who created it”.
Pilestedt finally touched his success as a live service game, something others struggled with. “It’s easy to say, ‘okay, we’ll make more money by being able to drop a bundle of content here and there’. But that’s not why any consumer wants to engage with us,” he noted.
Pilestedt said live service gaming can be good for the industry “if done right” as it becomes an ever-evolving hobby. “If you forget that when you’re making a live service game, then I think – I don’t want to say it’s a problem – but it’s a problem. I think it’s a problem … I’ve decided it’s a problem, it’s a huge problem,” he said.
He also asked developers not to be shy about getting involved in the community. While he admitted that there are “butts,” that shouldn’t stop the studio from interacting with its fan base. He noted that there will be times when people get “pissed off” and acknowledged that the PSN hoo-ha. “But at that point it’s like ‘oh, sorry! Yeah, that was a bad move on our part’… an apology doesn’t mean you’re devaluing your own brand as an organization, it just strengthens you.”
You can hear Pilestedt’s speech in the video below, starting at the 4 hour and 37 minute mark.