Helldivers 2 was so popular two weeks after its launch that it dealt with constant server issues. It hit a peak concurrent player count of 458,709, but now it’s down to a more manageable 28,000.
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According to SteamDB, Helldivers 2 is sat at exactly 15,000 players at the time of writing. This is a far cry from its behemoth first month, and player numbers have been steadily dwindling since late February, looking like they’re now settling at around 28,000 – 33,000 players.
This may seem bad on the surface, but it’s a normal part of the life cycle of most games. No game retains its peak player count, because players eventually move on to something else, returning only occassionally or when there’s a big update.
This was all accounted for by Arrowhead, the Helldivers 2 developer. While it never expected the game to achieve the level of popularity it did, former CEO Johan Pilestedt didn’t let the success go to his head. For many, the temptation would be to assume the numbers could only go up and expand the studio, but he chose not to do that.
“The act of over-hiring to then do layoffs is a horrible practice and a bad experience for employees. Use short-term solutions for short-term problems, such as outsourcing, contractors or limited-time agreements. (Who could’ve thought?),” he wrote on Twitter/X.
Helldivers 2 is a Starship Troopers-inspired video game where players take control of the eponymous Helldivers and descend upon an alien bug or robot-infested planet and cleanse them in the name of democracy and Super Earth, which is just Earth but more super. It’s a co-op multiplayer game and has taken the gaming world by storm.
In other news, Elden Ring servers are down for maintenance while the game receives its latest patch, but don’t worry, you can still play it offline.
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