It seems like every time the industry is ready to declare that the Games as a Service (GaaS) business model dead, a new title surfaces to inject new life.
Case in point, enter Helldivers 2. If you're unfamiliar with the game, just imagine you're playing a well-crafted video game version of Starship Troopers.
In the squad-based shooter released by Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2024, players assume the role of Helldivers, elite troops defending the galaxy against extraterrestrial dangers.
Players can employ a range of weapons, vehicles, and strategies throughout the game to accomplish goals and stay alive. The gameplay of Helldivers 2 is renowned for being difficult and emphasizing collaboration.
Using Steam concurrent player statistics as a metric for a game's popularity, Helldivers 2 is more popular than Destiny 2 or Starfield have ever been.
With the title being a PlayStation exclusive, it's success is truly impressive.
The game is so popular that gamers are waiting hours just for a spot to open up on Arrohead's servers.
Heading over to Twitch, Helldivers 2 is the 12th most popular stream being played right now.
About Helldivers 2:
Join the Helldivers and fight for freedom with friends across a hostile galaxy in this fast, frantic third-person shooter. Avenge the fallen. Take up the mantle of Liberty. Enlist in 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 armour 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 behaviour – 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.