GamesActionHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 studio continues to wrangle its servers like a bucking bronco, capping player count at 450K to avoid instabilityWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

GamesActionHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 studio continues to wrangle its servers like a bucking bronco, capping player count at 450K to avoid instabilityWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Helldivers 2 best weapons - Soldier with a rocket launcher

We reported yesterday that Helldivers 2 more thandoubled its peak player countfrom its first weekend online, and that’s only increased to a whopping386,000 playersat the time of writing.

The community has taken to saying that Helldivers 2 is “suffering from success,” what with Arrowhead not anticipating the tide of players and the game’sonline infrastructure sufferingas a result, but even with the headaches it’s brought for both players and developers, the general mood still seems buoyant. Helldivers 2 isso good, its success so unexpected, and itsmonetization so inoffensivethat it’s become a bit of a $40 people’s champion.

Arrowhead doesn’t specify, but since Helldivers 2 supports PC-PS5 crossplay, I interpret the 450,000 player cap as applying to both platforms together. With nearly 400,000 of those players being on PC, it really puts the nature of Helldivers 2’s success in stark perspective: we have yet another example ofPC gamers as tastemakers.

This smash hit simultaneous launch certainly seems to have caused somerecalibration among Sony’s top brass, which has long remained doggedly committed to PlayStation exclusivity⁠—a series of PC ports released 6-12 months after their initial launch in recent years has already been seen as a major softening of that stance.

Talking about Sony exclusivity just makes me feel the ache of an old wound, one that always seems to act up when it rains. That’s right, I’m talking about the gamer nightmare weighing on the brains of the living, Bloodborne on PC. I’m never letting that one go.

Whatever my own bitterness over Sony’s PC strategy in the past, Helldivers 2’s success has been exciting to follow, and with Arrowhead bulking up its dev team and servers in response, the game’s best days seem to still lie ahead.

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Helldivers 2 weapons: Best guns of Super EarthHelldivers 2 stratagems: Understand the ordinanceHelldivers 2 loadouts: Finest kits for bug-killingHelldivers 2 armor: Which suits to wearHelldivers 2 medals: Where to claim more currency

Helldivers 2 weapons: Best guns of Super EarthHelldivers 2 stratagems: Understand the ordinanceHelldivers 2 loadouts: Finest kits for bug-killingHelldivers 2 armor: Which suits to wearHelldivers 2 medals: Where to claim more currency

Helldivers 2 weapons: Best guns of Super EarthHelldivers 2 stratagems: Understand the ordinanceHelldivers 2 loadouts: Finest kits for bug-killingHelldivers 2 armor: Which suits to wearHelldivers 2 medals: Where to claim more currency

Helldivers 2 weapons: Best guns of Super EarthHelldivers 2 stratagems: Understand the ordinanceHelldivers 2 loadouts: Finest kits for bug-killingHelldivers 2 armor: Which suits to wearHelldivers 2 medals: Where to claim more currency

Helldivers 2 weaponsHelldivers 2 stratagemsHelldivers 2 loadoutsHelldivers 2 armorHelldivers 2 medals

Helldivers 2 weapons: Best guns of Super EarthHelldivers 2 stratagems: Understand the ordinanceHelldivers 2 loadouts: Finest kits for bug-killingHelldivers 2 armor: Which suits to wearHelldivers 2 medals: Where to claim more currency

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