Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani has said that Helldivers 2 was a free-to-play game at one point in its development. The studio head has also suggested that multiple pivots like this could be to blame for Helldivers 2's tech debt and ongoing performance issues.
In some ways, the live-service approach of Helldivers 2 almost feels similar to the model employed by many existing free-to-play games. Arrowhead Game Studios drops free content regularly to bring players back to game, and players are able to buy Super Credits micro-transactions to buy in-game items. To its credit, players can earn this premium currency by playing the game, and there's no significant pressure for players to spend to avoid being left behind. Still, it's interesting to see how it compares to a typical free-to-play game in this regard.
Helldivers 2’s Most Fashionable ‘Bug’ Could Open Pandora’s Box, But You Shouldn’t Hold Your Breath
Helldivers 2 has a cosmetic-related glitch that, if turned into an official, legitimate outfit piece, players would almost certainly adore as such.
Helldivers 2 CEO Says the Game Was Almost Free To Play, and It May Be to Blame For Tech Debt
As spotted by GamesRadar+, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani was speaking about the potential reasons for Helldivers 2's ongoing performance issues in the game's Discord server. Jorjani says that "HD2 started as a AA game," before it "grew in scope, then pivoted to a launch title for ps5, then pivoted to f2p, then back to premium (I might have the order messed up)." He claims that because "the goal posts were moved a few times... The foundations of this big tower were made for a little bungalow on the beach. All this = tech debt = performance is so-so for us."
It's hard to say what Helldivers 2 would look like now if it were a free-to-play title from launch. Considering Helldivers 2 sold an enormous number of copies back in 2024, becoming a success to a degree that almost no one could have predicted, it's difficult to imagine that Arrowhead Game Studios regrets its approach.
While players continue to voice their concerns about Helldivers 2's performance, the game is largely in a healthy place. Jorjani recently said that there are currently no plans for Helldivers 3, with Arrowhead Game Studios instead focusing on continuing to update the existing game for the forseeable future. Considering its live-service DNA and its intention to be a gaming staple for years to come, it will be interesting to see if the possibility of revisiting the free-to-play idea ever comes back to the table in the distant future.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
