Sony has officially announced that Helldivers 2 will be making its way to the Xbox Series X and S, a surprising move that broadens the cooperative shooter’s audience beyond PlayStation platforms. Revealed during a live stream earlier today, the port will be handled by Nixxes, a studio well known for bringing several PlayStation Studios projects to PC with consistent quality.
The announcement comes as a significant departure from Sony’s previous publishing practices. Historically, the company has avoided porting second-party or first-party intellectual properties directly to Xbox, despite expanding on PC and occasionally the Nintendo Switch. This shift reflects a potentially broader multiplatform strategy that Sony may be experimenting with, especially for live service titles that benefit from an expanded player base.
Helldivers 2 is set for release on August 26 at a price of $39.99. The cooperative third-person shooter, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, has already built a healthy community on PlayStation 5 and PC. Bringing the title to Xbox platforms is expected to further increase its player population, promoting a more active online ecosystem that is essential for live service games.
Discussions around a possible Xbox release had first emerged in April 2024, when co-host Shpeshal Nick on The Xbox Era Podcast suggested that Sony was in early talks to explore the idea. At that time, Nick pointed to a more flexible strategy under PlayStation’s leadership, hinting at a willingness to expand certain franchises beyond traditional console boundaries.
This vision was echoed by PlayStation President Hiroki Totoki, who previously remarked on the potential synergy of distributing first-party content on multiple platforms, arguing that it could both grow franchises and improve profitability. Helldivers 2, with its shooter-heavy gameplay style, seems a logical choice to pursue this philosophy, especially given the strong crossover potential with the Xbox audience.
While Sony has generally maintained a strategy of using first-party games to anchor its consoles, the move to bring Helldivers 2 to Xbox marks a notable exception, and perhaps even a sign of more to come. For now, players on Xbox can look forward to experiencing the fast-paced cooperative battles of Helldivers 2 later this summer, expanding what has already proven to be a successful addition to the PlayStation catalog.
