Summary
- Helldivers 2's success is largely due to its PC availability, breaking Sony's usual strategy for simultaneous release on PS5 and PC.
- According to an industry insider, PC gamers contributed over half of Helldivers 2's US sales, making it Sony's 7th highest-grossing game in the US market.
- Simultaneous releases on multiple platforms like PS5 and PC are key to reaching a wider audience and maximizing sales potential.
Helldivers 2 has achieved remarkable success following its launch earlier this year, partly due to its availability on PC. Helldivers 2, a cooperative third-person shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony, launched simultaneously on PlayStation 5 (PS5) and PC in February 2024. This departure from Sony's traditional release strategy aimed to tap into the growing PC gaming market.
The decision to release Helldivers 2 on both PS5 and PC on the same day was a departure from Sony's usual practice of delaying PC ports. The game takes players into a dystopian future where they battle against alien forces in intense top-down shooting action. Building upon the success of its predecessor, Helldivers 2 offers enhanced graphics, refined mechanics, and a deeper narrative, creating an immersive cooperative gaming experience. In just a few months, it has also gained popularity as one of the best co-op shooter games.
Helldivers 2 Is More Successful on PC Compared to Playstation
In one of his tweets, Mat Piscatella, an industry analyst at Circana (formerly NPD group), shared insights on Helldivers 2's performance. According to Piscatella, over half of the game's sales in the US have been on PC. This has propelled Helldivers 2 to become the 7th highest-grossing Sony-published game in US history.
Piscatella's analysis suggests that the PC version's success significantly contributes to Helldivers 2's overall revenue. Without the PC version's sales figures, the game wouldn't have secured its position among Sony's top-grossing titles in the US market. With such a great success in the US market in just a few months, Helldivers shows the potential to become one of the best-selling video game franchises. It's worth noting that while the PC version drives significant revenue, it remains unclear if add-on content sales, such as premium warbond and Super Credit purchases, are factored into the data provided by Circana.
Helldivers 2's success underscores the importance of simultaneous releases on multiple platforms. This strategy allows games to reach a wider audience and maximize sales potential, as demonstrated by Helldivers 2's strong performance on both PS5 and PC. The game's popularity and huge success on PS5 and PC even led players to start a petition to launch Helldivers 2 on Xbox.
The game's popularity continues to grow by the day. The players in the community continue to provide the devs with valuable insights to make the game better, which resulted in the latest Helldivers 2 update 01.000.300 where fans got balancing changes, weapon tweaks and a lot more. The success of Helldivers 2 indicates a changing landscape of gaming distribution. As more players embrace PC gaming alongside consoles, developers and publishers can leverage this trend to achieve greater success in the market.
Helldivers 2
- Released
- February 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
URGENT BROADCAST – SUPER EARTH ARMED FORCES
Freedom. Peace. Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. Of our very existence. But the war rages on. And everything is once again under threat.
Join the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen and make this a safe and free place to live.
BECOME A LEGEND
You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
LOADOUTS
Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armor and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
REQUISITION
Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
THREATS
Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behavior – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
THE GALACTIC WAR
Capturing enemy planets, defending against invasions, and completing missions will contribute to our overall effort. This war will be won or lost depending on the actions of everyone involved.
We stand together, or we fall apart.
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
