Summary
- Helldivers 2, a co-op shooter, struggles to maintain playerbase months post-release.
- The game lost around 90% of its players on Steam, with 38k concurrent players currently.
- Some of the decline possibly linked to PSN account linking controversy, raising concerns for future live service games.
The player count for Arrowhead Game Studios' critically-acclaimed co-op shooter, Helldivers 2, has declined dramatically on Steam. Despite being a massive commercial success for both Arrowhead and Sony, it seems that Helldivers 2 is struggling to maintain the majority of its playerbase several months after its simultaneous release on PS5 and PC. There are many reasons why this could be happening, but regardless of the cause, this doesn't paint a good picture for the future of PlayStation's live service ambitions.
Helldivers 2 launched in February 2024 and became an immediate smash hit, with the title lighting up the sales charts and receiving a near-unanimous positive reception from fans. Many gamers praised the co-op shooter not only for having enjoyable gameplay, but also for bucking the trend of incorporating aggressive monetization, an aspect that other live service games often suffer from. The positive buzz surrounding Arrowhead's latest title contributed to Helldivers 2 passing Destiny 2's concurrent player count on Steam only a few weeks after its release. Later on, Sony confirmed that the game had sold 12 million copies by May 2024, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation-published title of all time.
Helldivers 2 Dev Gives Update on Review Bomb Cape
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead provides an update about the review bomb cape memorializing the game's infamous PSN account controversy.
Unfortunately, though, it seems that Helldivers 2's widespread critical and commercial success isn't translating into longevity, as the game has lost around 90% of its players on Steam, according to data provided by SteamDB. At the time of writing this article, Arrowhead's co-op shooter has approximately 38,048 concurrent players on PC, with the user count peaking at 44,000 in the last 24 hours. While these numbers aren't by any means terrible, they do pale in comparison to Helldivers 2's massive player count milestone of 458,709 back in February 2024.
Helldivers 2's Player Count Decline Could Be Attributed to the PSN Account Linking Controversy
Since its release, the game has gradually lost active users on PC over the last few months, with the most notable decline being in May 2024, when the live service shooter's player count dropped by an astonishing 63.5%. This coincides with Helldivers 2's PlayStation account link controversy earlier that month, when both Sony and the game itself were blasted by PC players for unexpectedly announcing a PSN connectivity requirement at the time. Although SIE did walk back the controversial decision after immense backlash, it seems that the dilemma may have caused more harm to Helldivers 2 than the company might've expected.
It's possible that Helldivers 2's decline in player count isn't that big of a deal, as games lose monthly active users all the time. However, to see a massively successful title experience such a dramatic drop in players does bring into question the long-term viability of future live service games from Sony, like Concord, Marathon, and Fairgames. If the competition in the GAAS market is so high that even immensely-acclaimed games like Helldivers 2 have to fight to maintain their relevance, then it's hard to imagine other titles remaining more popular for longer stretches of time.
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
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
