As Helldivers 2 continues its struggle to cope with the influx of players, the boss of its developer has cautioned against buying the game right now.
Yesterday, February 19, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios said it would release updates on PlayStation 5 and PC this week that aim to tackle the “most serious problems” the game is currently facing, including login, matchmaking, and server load. The first of these fixes arrives today, February 20, but Arrowhead warned players “no single update will solve all the issues.”
Helldivers 2’s explosive launch has seen an astonishing peak concurrent player count of 411,359 on Steam. That’s high enough to pass the all-time Steam concurrent peaks of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5, Bethesda’s Starfield, and Bungie’s Destiny 2. But the influx of players has caused significant server issues, with a dreaded black screen affecting PC players specifically, and “servers at capacity” message plaguing the game across both PC and PS5.
There’s evidence to suggest players are losing patience with the game, too. On Steam, Helldivers 2 now has a ‘mixed’ user review rating after an initial positive reception. Pretty much all the negative reviews revolve around the server issues.
Now, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has responded to one user on Twitter / X who said they wanted to buy Helldivers 2 but can’t afford it right now, to recommend they hold off until these server problems are sorted out.
“If you have no cash, get it later,” Pilestedt said. “While we made a really fun game it’s worth waiting until the servers can support the capacity.
“I mean, as a CEO I of course want the game to be as profitable as possible, but if you spent yr last $ and got stuck in server queues I’d be 💔”
Pilestedt’s comment appears to have gone down well with the Helldivers community, with redditor LittleBlueCubes saying “honesty is the best policy”.
This week, IGN reported on how the Helldivers 2 community had called for Arrowhead to add an away from keyboard (AFK) auto kick feature to the game after some players admitted leaving it on all day and theoretically at least blocking others from getting in. Pilestedt has suggested Arrowhead is working on a fix.
In our Helldivers 2 review, we said its “combat feels fantastic, its missions stay fresh and interesting, and its smart progression system doesn’t nickel and dime you.”
For more, check out how Helldivers 2 has sparked renewed interest in Starship Troopers, and if you’re playing, our comprehensive Helldivers 2 guide.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
