Helldivers 2 has sold over 12 million copies in its first 12 weeks, making it PlayStation's fastest-selling game of all time. The co-op PvE shooter launched for PlayStation 5 and PC in February of this year.
Sony announced the record-breaking sales figures during its investors call today, acknowledging that the game had "far exceeded" the publisher's expectations.
Helldivers 2 hit the 12 million sales milestone on May 5, 2024. It beat out Sony Santa Monica's God of War Ragnarok, which sold five million copies in its first week and 11 million copies 75 days after launching on PS4 and PS5 in November 2022.
Sony also confirmed that Helldivers 2 is now the company's biggest PC title to date.
Following the earnings call, Arrowhead Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt took to social media to celebrate the achievement.
"What a massive achievement from everyone involved in realizing Helldivers 2," Pilestedt wrote on Twitter/X. "A massive thank you to the community for your support, passion, and dedication in the fight for democracy!"
To give fans a sense of just how popular the game has been, Pilestedt noted that the number of Helldivers 2 copies sold so far (12 million) exceeds the population of Sweden (10.5 million), where Arrowhead Studios is based. He also revealed that about 150,000 Helldivers 2 players are from Sweden.
Responding to his impressive statistic, a follower posted their own; with 12 million soldiers, Helldivers 2 has the "largest active military in the world."
Sony added that the success of Helldivers 2 "contributed significantly" to sales and profit during the company's last quarter. Helldivers 2 helped boost the number of monthly active users on PlayStation to 118 million, up 9% year-over-year. Additionally, the total play time on PlayStation in March specifically rose by 15% year-over-year. Even more impressive, the total play time on PlayStation for the entire fourth quarter (ending on March 31, 2024) was the second-highest in Sony's history, trailing only Q4 of FY2020, which was boosted significantly by the stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic.
The impressive sales figures come shortly after Arrowhead and PlayStation found themselves butting heads over requiring PC players to link their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Sony, who owns the Helldivers IP but not developer Arrowhead, eventually rolled back its decision after much of the game's player base revolted and review-bombed the game.
Helldivers 2 is currently available on PlayStation and PC for $39.99.