Helldivers becomes Sony’s biggest steam launch

The Arrowhead and Sony game Hellldivers surpasses other record-setting titles such as God of War and Spider-Man on Steam.

The two were eclipsed by the third-person cooperative shooter that now boasts the top spot and 155,000 concurrent users on the PC platform, according to SteamDB.

The bug-blasting game is described as a “squad-based shooter that sees the elite forces of the Helldivers battling to win an intergalactic struggle to rid the galaxy of the rising alien threats.”

Helldiver’s director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has been responding to positive messages from the community about the game’s continued success.

He said on X (formerly Twitter):

You think sony will say any public statement on the units sold? Congrats on the success!!

— GamerUP (@GamerUPGaming) February 11, 2024

The future of the title

Arrowhead has said that the game will deploy free updates to users and new enemies to fight, with the always vocal CEO saying on Discord that “we are constantly going to add more stuff to the game! Enemies, objectives, biomes, etc., are always going to be free and expand the experience.”

Pilestedt commented on the pay-to-win elements of games, saying, “You have to earn the right to monetize’—I truly believe that. If people want to support this title, they have an option, but we are never forcing anyone to do so.”

The CEO said of the only pay-to-win element on X in a tongue-in-cheek jibe:

I’m partial but we really applied ourselves to not make it p2w even though items are functionally different. The only item that’s p2w is the revolver – which will win you any “cool gun” competition. Only (minor) problem is that it’s not that good. 🤷 https://t.co/c8T8TruLVi

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) February 11, 2024

The game has been battling some bugs, with the studio keeping gamers posted about the downtime in a statement on X from the ever-active Pilestedt;

”Thank you for your patience,” He said. “With it, we deployed three “rapid-fixes” aimed at improving the situation with rewards often not being handed out properly, login issues, and server capacity. “

“For now, please once again accept our sincere apologies for the issues you’re facing, and rest assured, we’re doing our utmost to make it right..”

After a long night, the developers are hoping for some well-deserved shut-eye, with the game designer capping off his post by saying, “Right now, it is crucial that our team gets some sleep, and we will be back at this again in a few hours.”

Image: Sony blog

Brian-Damien Morgan

Freelance Journalist

Brian-Damien Morganis an award-winning journalist and features writer. He was lucky enough to work in the print sector for many UK newspapers before embarking on a successful career as a digital broadcaster and specialist.

His work has spanned the public and private media sectors of the United Kingdom for almost two decades.

Since 2007, Brian has continued to add to a long list of publications and institutions, most notably as Editor of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, winning multiple awards for his writing and digital broadcasting efforts.

Brian would then go on to be integral to the Legacy 2014, Media and Sport Directorate of the Scottish Government. Working with ministers to enact change through sport with institutions like the Homeless World Cup.

He would then lend his skills to multiple private sector institutions. Brian would win national acclaim helping his country deliver judicial education and communications during the pandemic-era. Earning a writ of personal distinction from the Lord President of Scotland for his efforts as the Head of Communications and Digital for the Judicial Office for Scotland.

Brian has returned back to the thing he loves most, writing and commenting on developments across technology, gaming and legal topics, as well as any-and-all things sport related.