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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Sackboy: A Big Adventure is crossing over with the free PS5 game Astro’s Playroom. Earlier today, developer Sumo Digital announced that players can equip the free Astro Bot costume later this week.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure crosses over with Astro’s Playroom

The Astro Bot costume arrives in Sackboy: A Big Adventure as a free DLC on March 8. The studio has only shared one image of the costume so far and has yet to show how it will look in the game. However, unlike some other costumes, which are just Sackboy in a funny outfit, this looks more like a Little Big Planet version of the character. It has a larger, boxier head and a proportionally smaller body. The Astro costume’s antenna is also a lot bigger than the original. This has the side effect of making him look a lot more like the Reddit mascot than the designers probably intended.

Astro’s Playroom is a free 3D platformer that comes pre-loaded in all PS5s. It primarily serves as a tech demo for the console’s DualSence controller. It was also the last original game from Gravity Rush developer Japan Studio before its dissolution in 2021. The timing of this new crossover is interesting given the new Astro Bot game reportedly in development.

Meanwhile, Sumo Digital’s Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a 2020 spinoff of the Little Big Planet series. It follows the titular Sackboy in his quest to save Craftworld from the villainous Vex. The game features hundreds of costumes, with developers frequently more through updates. Many of these outfits are inspired by other Sony properties. Past crossovers include characters from God of War, The Last of Us, Ratchet and Clank, Horizon, and Uncharted.

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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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Bungie is looking into the possibility of adding something like Halo’s 8 vs. 8 Big Team Battle PvP mode to Destiny 2. However, some technical issues make implementing a 16-player mode in Bungie’s FPS MMO difficult.

Destiny 2 might get a version of Halo’s Big Team Battle

Former host and current Destiny 2 weapons designer Mercules recently joined the 64th episode of the Firing Range Podcast. During the interview, the host asked him about the possibility of bringing Big Team Battle to Bungie’s MMO.

“So, we’re investigating it,” Mercules replied. “It is an ongoing active investigation at Bungie.”

However, some “really weird” technical issues crop up when that many players load into a single activity. “We want to make sure that we can make it happen in a way that ends up being fun and stable,” the Destiny 2 dev explained. “Like, the stable part is pretty important.”

The 16-player Big Team Battle mode first appeared in Halo 3 multiplayer and has been in every Halo game since. Given the overlap between Halo and Destiny 2 fans, many players would no doubt consider it a great addition.

It might also do something to recover lost players. Going by the game’s player numbers on Steam, Destiny 2 hit its all-time peak in February 2023 in anticipation of the Lightfall expansion. However, the year-long post-Lightfall dip has seen the lowest PC player numbers since its release. While console numbers are harder to come by, they likely follow a similar trend.

Hopefully, The Final Shape expansion will reinvigorate Destiny 2 when it arrives in June. Considering the upcoming expansion will reportedly overhaul the game’s core mechanics, it might be an excellent opportunity to implement the Halo-inspired mode.

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Publisher Nacon and developer Spiders shared a new trailer for the upcoming action RPG GreedFall 2: The Dying World. The game is on its way to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Consoles, and Steam users will be able to play in early access.

GreedFall 2 gets a new story trailer

GreedFall 2 will launch for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC later this year. While the publisher’s yet to reveal a more precise release window, Steam users can play in early access this summer. While Spiders has not shared any gameplay, the new trailer offers story teasers and an intimidating new boss monster.

The GreedFall 2 trailer opens with an attack on a native settlement on Teer Fradee, the North America-inspired island players explored in the first game. The attackers appear to be members of the Coin Guard, a large and powerful mercenary company. The invaders take GreedFall 2’s protagonist and the rest of her village back to the continent of Gacane, presumably for slave labor. However, the hero escapes with a combination of magic and physical prowess. Viewers next see her leading a party of three companions to a battlefield, where they encounter a massive, golem-like monster.

The first game saw players departing from the continental city of Sérène to the newly established colonies on Teer Fradee. However, the new game flips the script, letting players explore Gacane from the perspective of a Teer Fradee native. Confirmed locations include the Bridge Alliance city of Olima, which is presumably the city glimpsed in the trailer. Despite the number, GreedFall 2 is a prequel set 3 years before the original game.

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Toys for Bob, the developer of Crash Bandicoot 4 and Crash Team Rumble, is officially independent of Activision and Microsoft. Despite the split, the studio hasn’t ruled out working with those companies in the future.

Crash Bandicoot developer Toys for Bob splits from Activision after 19 years

Toys for Bob’s separation from Activision goes into effect today, February 29. The divorce also appears to be an amicable one, according to the studio’s official statement. “Our friends at Activision and Microsoft have been extremely supportive of our new direction, and we’re confident that we will continue to work closely together as part of our future,” Toys for Bob wrote. The company, which closed its physical office earlier this month, also says it is exploring a possible partnership with Microsoft, which acquired Crash Bandicoot publisher Activision last year.

If this partnership works out, it could mean that Toys for Bob isn’t done with the Crash Bandicoot series. Unfortunately, the company’s statement didn’t detail its future plans, but it promises to give more updates soon.

Founded by Paul Reiche and Fred Ford in 1989, Toys for Bob released its first game, Star Control, in 1990. Decades later, it developed the Skylanders series, released from 2011 to 2016. It later released the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Spyro Reignited Trilogy before launching Crash Bandicoot 4 in 2020. Its last game as the primary developer was 2023’s Crash Team Rumble, though it also assisted on Modern Warfare III.

While Toys for Bob’s relationship with Activision lasted almost 20 years, the studio expressed excitement for its new opportunities. “With the same enthusiasm and passion,” it says, “we believe that now is the time to take the studio and our future games to the next level. This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio.”

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Gran Turismo 7’s Update 1.43 is out now, introducing a variety of new content. The latest update adds three new cars, three World Circuit events, a new Café Menu item, and a new Scapes backdrop.

Gran Turismo 7 gets two sports cars and a retro hatchback

Polyphony Digital announced Gran Turismo 7’s new update with a trailer and a post on the official PlayStation blog. The most prominent features are the three new cars. These are the Audi TTS Coupé ’09, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR GSR ’06, and Renault R4 GTL ’85. Players can purchase them from Brand Central or the used car dealership.

Gran Turismo 7′ Audi TTS Coupé is a high-performance version of the 2009 Audi TT sports coupé. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR GSR is an upgraded version of the Lan Evo, featuring improved aerodynamics and other refinements. The “MR” stands for “Mitsubishi Racing,” a label Mitsubishi gives to its highest-performance sportscars. Finally, the Renault R4 GTL is the most retro addition in this update. The 1985 French hatchback was the first of its kind and earned a reputation as a “car of the people.” It also goes well with the update’s Cité de Carcassone Scape, which adds a French mountaintop castle to photo mode.  

The update also lets Gran Turismo 7 players with a Collector level of 43 or higher unlock the Lamborghini in Café mode. Meanwhile, the game’s new events are the Sunday Cup Classic, European Clubman Cup 600, and Japanese Clubman Cup 550. The first two take place on the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan, with the third utilizing California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

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Neil Druckmann is well known for working on the Uncharted series and as creative director of The Last of Us games. Having won numerous DICEs, British Academy, Game Developers Choice Writers Guild of America, and Game Awards, his career was clearly successful. However, he says that he might not have many AAA games left in him.

The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann says he doesn’t have many AAA games left in him

The Last of Us director recently gave an interview with the rapper Logic on the latter’s Logically Speaking podcast. The interview was over an hour and 20 minutes long, and they talked extensively about Druckmann’s career, including his future.

“I guess that I don’t see myself doing this forever at this scale,” he says, just after the 48:50 mark. “It’s just a lot, and it takes a lot out of you. It’s very stressful to manage that many people and multiple studios worldwide.”

He also talked about wanting to spend more time with his kids, especially now that his daughter is a teenager.

“Yeah, so,” the Naughty Dog executive continued,” I’m just at a point in my life where it’s like, you start looking at, ‘what’s the end game here? When is it time to call it?’… So, I could see myself transitioning to something that’s more low-key and lower stressed that still allows me to have this creative outlet. But you know, I’ve started thinking about how many more of these games do I have in me, and it’s not that many.”

Neil Druckmann joined Naughty Dog in 2004, working as a programmer on Jak 3 and Jak X. He then became a designer on the first Uncharted game before rising to co-lead game designer on Uncharted 2. He then co-directed the Last of Us and Uncharted 4 before his promotion to vice-president and later co-president in 2020. Excluding remasters and a cameo in Return to Monkey Island, his last new game was The Last of Us Part 2 from 2020.

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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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EA and Ascendant Studios’ fantasy FPS Immortals of Aveum hasn’t left a big impression since launching in August 2023. According to the studio’s founder, the game would have done better if it hadn’t been sandwiched between so many other AAA releases.

Immortals of Aveum released in an extremely crowded year, but Ascendant Studios isn’t giving up

“When we were heading to launch, we knew it was very crowded,” Ascendant’s founder, Bret Robbins, told GamesIndustry.biz. “This was a very unusual year. Zelda had come out, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was a little before us. And as we were nearing launch, Baldur’s Gate 3 suddenly blew up right in front of us. That one, more than any of the others, seemed unanticipated.”

The studio also knew that Immortals of Aveum would be competing against both Armored Core 6 and Starfield. “We were sandwiched between a lot of different big games or games from really big studios,” said Robbins. We absolutely got lost in the noise.

He also partly attributed Immortals of Aveum’s underperformance on the studio’s decision to delay the game from July 20 to August 22. This gave the developers more time for polish and optimization but meant it faced stiffer competition on release. “Although the game was better, the timing was worse,” Robbins admitted.

Then again, the argument that Immortals of Aveum would have done better in a worse year isn’t exactly a glowing recommendation. While some reviewers liked the game, its PS5 version only averaged 69 on Metacritic, with a user score of 6.0. The Xbox version did a little better with a score of 76, while the PC release only managed a 65. By comparison, the PS5 versions of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Armored Core 6 averaged 96 and 86, respectively.

Either way, Robbins hasn’t given up on Immortals of Aveum and thinks it may be a sleeper hit. “The story of Immortals isn’t written yet,” he said. “I was the creative director on Dead Space, and people were discovering that for years and years. I think Immortals will be the same.”

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