One of Helldivers 2’s more unique features is the presence of a human Game Master who orchestrates its galaxy-spanning war. However, it seems to be a challenging job, as Arrowhead Game Studios needed to deploy “emergency” assistance to cope with the game’s massive player base.

Helldivers 2 GM “was just not sleeping,” says Arrowhead’s community manager

Last week, Arrowhead revealed that it employs a Game Master named Joel to oversee Helldivers 2’s galactic war. His role resembles a D&D Dungeon Master, crafting the story around the players’ actions. However, DMing for half a million players is a tall order. As GamesRadar reported, Arrowhead’s community manager, Baskinator, said the studio had to dispatch additional personnel to help manage the workload.

“Sounds incredibly daunting when you have to juggle the expectations set by the roadmap/dev studio vs what the 500K+ active players want and do,” said one Discord user. “Yes, absolutely,” Baskinator responded. “That’s why we have done an emergency expansion to the GM’s team. He’s only one guy, and he was just not sleeping. I remember over the launch weekend, he was sending me messages at 4 AM because we were the only ones still awake.”

Helldiver’s 2 was a much bigger hit than either Arrowhead or Sony expected and suffered from overcrowded servers at launch. Given that, it’s unsurprising that the game’s DM was swamped in the days following release.

“Unfortunately, our scope was much narrower at launch,” the community manager explained. “We expected fewer players and easier means and methods of communication.”

As for the specifics of how Helldivers 2’s GM system works, Arrowhead hasn’t gone into too much detail. However, Baskinator said her job includes relaying player feedback to Joel and his team. The community manager also mentioned plans to give “deep dives” into the GM system. This includes letting Joel address the community directly.

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Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt has decried Helldivers 2 and Halo comparisons, arguing that they serve no purpose as there’s room for both games to be enjoyed separately. Helldivers 2 is Sony Interactive Entertainment‘s first multiplatform live service game that went on to become a hit, and that’s attracted quite a bit of vitriol by console fanboys. Much of Helldivers 2’s success comes from PC, where it has a far higher number of players.

Arrowhead CEO on Helldivers 2 vs Halo arguments: Let people love and enjoy both

In response to a comparison tweet from a fan account with thousands of followers, Pilestedt said, “Just let gamers love and enjoy both, either or neither.” He’s of the view that there should be “more compassion and union in the world, and less rivalry.”

In a separate tweet, Pilestedt added that healthy competition is good but even from a business standpoint, neither monopolies nor “cut=throat competitions” do any good.

Pilestedt — who’s earned a positive reputation for his social media conduct and fan interaction — was showered with praise for his response.

Recently, Xbox boss Phil Spencer commented on Helldivers 2’s popularity and console exclusivity, arguing that skipping Xbox platforms doesn’t benefit anyone.

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Arrowhead Game Studios’ CEO Johan Pilestedt recently revealed that stats in Helldivers 2 are a lot more complicated than the interface would lead players to believe. Early versions of the game provided players with much more detailed information on each weapon’s performance. However, developers thought it was too complex for the average player.

Weapons in Helldivers 2 have 46 hidden stats

Weapons in Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 have four visible stats: Damage, Capacity, Recoil, and Fire Rate. However, Pilestedt described these as “guidelines” that don’t give a full picture of the weapon’s performance. He revealed on Twitter that there are actually 50 stats in all. Many of these reflect characteristics of the weapon’s ammunition rather than the gun itself.

In addition to the visible stats, each weapon in Helldivers 2 has a hidden Ergonomics score, which initially appeared alongside the other four. This number represents how unwieldy the gun is and governs things like how long it takes to aim down the sights.

The stats screen also originally had a second page providing additional information. These include Reload Time, Fire Modes, Magazines, and Muzzle Velocity in meters per second. Helldivers 2 also originally had a graphic showing how the weapon’s Recoil affects its bullet spread. Even this was a simplification, with Recoil being a combination of 14 hidden values.

In another tweet, the Helldivers 2 developer explained the mechanics behind Armor Penetration. “Armor pen is a value between 0 and 10,” he clarified. “If the AP is equal to the enemies [sic] armor value the damage is 50% if the AP beats the armor you do 100%. If AP is less than the AV the bullet ricochets.” However, even he doesn’t remember what everything does, saying, “I don’t know what the light AP condition is. I think it might be if AP is 2 or less. But honestly I don’t know either.”

He described how Arrowhead attempted to strike a balance between providing information and overwhelming Helldivers 2 players with too much of it. However, Pilestedt acknowledges they may have gone too far in the other direction. “Yeah,” he wrote, “in retrospect it might have been a bad call.”

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A pair of fake Helldivers 2 listings on Steam misled some players into thinking that the game received a significant price drop on the platform. Developers behind two indie games carbon copied the actual Helldivers 2 page on Steam, showing steep discounts of 50% and 75%. Unsuspecting players would end up paying for games called Figurality and Do Not Smile, instead.

Helldivers 2 is still full price, Arrowhead clarifies

Over on its Discord channel, developer Arrowhead Game Studios expressed frustration over the scam. Many have been left concerned by how the devs behind the aforementioned indie games could heavily edit not only their store descriptions but also developer and publisher information in order to mimic the Helldivers 2 page.

As shown in the screenshots below by Twitter user Wario64, the scammers listed Arrowhead as the developer and PlayStation as the publisher.

Steam has since nuked the listings but the ease of scamming people has caused alarm.

“People posting as us trying to scam people is obviously very sad and frustrating, and for that as well as for security reasons we urge you to stay clear of them,” Arrowhead wrote. “The only two Helldivers 2 products we market are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2 Super Citizen Edition.”

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An analyst reports that Helldivers 2 sold twice as much in its second week as the game did in its first. Game sales typically peak at the week of release, but Arrowhead Game Studios’ co-op third-person shooter shows that isn’t always the case.

Helldivers 2 makes twice as much money in its second week

Mat Piscatella is an analyst for the market research company Circana Incorporated. In a recent tweet, he revealed that Helldivers 2 made twice as much money in the US in its second week as it did in the first. While a 100% increase is obviously a big deal, Piscatella pointed out how unusual it is for a game to grow like this. “Inverse decays are rare,” he said, “this large a week 2 jump even moreso, especially outside the holiday window. Great stuff.”

Piscatella didn’t provide specific numbers or offer any deeper insight into Helldivers 2 success. However, on February 11, Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt revealed the game had sold about 1 million copies. If sales doubled in week 2, it’s not reasonable to assume that it’s eclipsed 3 million units sold. Still, it’s best to wait for official confirmation on Helldivers 2’s sales numbers.

Either way, it is fair to say that Helldivers 2 is a massive success for the Stockholm-based studio. The game saw overall positive reviews, with the PlayStation 5 and PC versions both averaging 82 on Metacritic. Released simultaneously on both platforms, it was Sony’s most successful PC release to date and greatly surpassed the publisher’s expectations. While other Sony studios face layoffs and closures, Arrowhead recently announced it’s expanding in light of Helldivers 2’s phenomenal success.

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Arrowhead Game Studios has rolled out a new Helldivers 2 update for both the PS5 and PC, addressing a common complaint. In the midst of the game’s server load issues, a considerable number of players resorted to idling to stay logged in and avoid queues, denying other players the opportunity to log in. The latest patch boots players who remain idle for 15 minutes.

Helldivers 2 update 1.000.11 patch notes and known issues list (February 22, 2024)

Patch notes and an updated list of known issues are as follows:

 Fixes

• Fixed multiple crashes triggered when joining other players’ ships.
• Fixed crash triggered when exiting ADS.
• Fixed crash triggered when players leave a session while bombardments are active.
• Fixed issue where online missions in Galactic War Map were unselectable.
• Fixed issue with GameGuard and Steam’s “verify integrity” step.
• Fixed issue with GameGuard and the Windows firewall.
• Fixed issue preventing access to Ship Management panel.
• Fixed issue causing players to get stuck in the defrosting or in the ship intro cinematic
• Fixed crash triggered when the process of buying Super Credits fails.
• Fixed crash triggered after consecutive quickplay attempts.
• Implemented a functionality that will kick players who remain idle for 15 minutes back to the title screen.

Known issues

• No text is present for the Requisitions and Social Menu on the Player HUD
• Crash may occur when trying to Match Make on Galactic War Map
• PS5 players may encounter error code 10003001 on the login screen.
• Login rate limiting when many are logging in at the same time.
• Players can become disconnected during play.
• Rewards and other progress may be delayed or not attributed.
• Various UI issues may appear when the game interacts with servers.
• Pick-up of certain objects in-game may cause characters to freeze in place for an extended period of time.
• Other unknown behaviors may occur.
• Japanese VO is missing from intro cutscene and Ship TV.
• Armor values for light/medium/heavy armor do not currently function as intended.

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Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Games, has suggested holding off on buying the game until ongoing server issues are resolved. Arrowhead and Sony have been working to increase server capacity as the game buckles under an unexpected influx of players on PS5 and PC.

Helldivers 2 issues aren’t simply a matter of buying another server, says Arrowhead

Pilestedt suggested not buying Helldivers 2 for now in response to a Twitter user who bemoaned all the buzz surrounding the game because they can’t currently afford to buy it. In response, Pilestedt said that although he wants Helldivers 2 to be as profitable as possible, it would make him feel bad if people spent their “last dollar” buying the game, only to be met with server queues.

Pilestedt’s response was well received by followers, who appreciated his transparency and communcation regarding the issues.

Speaking of servers, Pilestedt clarified a common misconception that Helldivers 2’s server woes can simply be resolved by purchasing more servers. As spotted by PCGamesN, Pilestedt said that “it’s a matter of labor.” “We need to optimize the backend code,” Pilestedt wrote on Twitter. “We are hitting some real limits.”

Pilestedt added that he doesn’t want to pester his engineers as he wants them to work independently without pressure.

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Xbox players have launched a petition to bring Helldivers 2 to Microsoft’s platform. While it’s not uncommon for players to launch petitions like these as a joke, this one seems to have garnered a lot of support, with quite a few supporters releasing video statements in favor of an Xbox release.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently commented on Helldivers 2’s PS5 exclusivity

Spotted by Xfire, the Change.org petition comes less than a week after Xbox boss Phil Spencer bemoaned platform exclusivity while acknowledging that Microsoft engages in the same behavior in order to stay competitive. Spencer is of the view that no one benefits from Helldivers 2 being limited to the PS5 and PC.

“The Xbox community stands as a bastion of diverse players, each with their unique stories, strategies, and strengths to bring to the battlefield,” the petition reads. “By bringing Helldivers 2 to Xbox, Arrowhead Game Studios has the opportunity to weave this vibrant tapestry of gamers into the fabric of the Helldivers universe.”

It’s unclear who owns the Helldivers IP, but with Sony Interactive Entertainment being the publisher, it’s unlikely that Arrowhead can simply bring the game to Xbox. At the time of this writing, the petition is inching closer to 50,000 signatures.

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Helldivers 2 has broken GTA V‘s concurrent player record on Steam, and such is the game’s unexpected popularity that developer Arrowhead Game Studios has been forced to introduce a player cap to manager server load. The good news is that this concurrent player limit is temporary and Arrowhead is working with Sony to increase capacity.

Arrowhead “working around the clock” to resolve Helldivers 2 server issues

In a message on its official Discord channel, Arrowhead said that it’s “working around the clock” with partners (i.e. Sony) to resolve the ongoing issues. Much of the game’s problems stem from servers buckling under increasing load on both the PS5 and PC.

“While we’ve been able to mitigte some of the causes, we are still struggling to keep up with the scaling that is needed to accommodate all our Helldivers,” part of the message reads. “Therefore, we’ve had to cap our concurrent players to around 450,000 to further improve server stability. We will continue to work with our partners to get the ceiling raised. If you have progression-related issues, please restart the game in order for things to sync back up.”

Helldivers 2 has also broken concurrent player records set by Starfield, Counter-Strike, and Destiny.

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Helldivers 2‘s PS5 exclusivity seems to bother Xbox boss Phil Spencer, if his recent statements are anything to go by. In a recent interview following yesterday’s highly anticipated business podcast, Spencer addressed multiplatform game releases and suggested that Helldivers 2 would have benefitted from an Xbox release as well.

Helldivers 2 is a “great” game but lack of Xbox version benefits no one, says Spencer

Speaking to Stephen Totilo’s Game File (paywalled), Spencer said that Xbox’s decision to release four of its games on rival platforms isn’t meant to be some kind of a “bartering” system. While he would welcome PlayStation and Nintendo games on Xbox platforms, Spencer says he doesn’t expect other companies to follow suit. That said, he believes the surprise hit Helldivers 2 should have had a bigger audience.

When I look at a game like Helldivers 2 — and it’s a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation — I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox,” Spencer said. “But I get it. There’s a legacy in console gaming that we’re going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places. We do the same thing.”

Sony launched Helldivers 2 on PS5 and PC simultaneously.

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