Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment have announced a significant milestone for their critically acclaimed cooperative shooter, Helldivers 2. Speaking at the Golden Joystick Awards, the developers revealed that the game now boasts an impressive 15 million players worldwide, marking an increase of 3 million players since May 2024, when it was reported to have 12 million players.
Helldivers 2, released on February 8, 2024, serves as a direct sequel to the 2015 top-down shooter Helldivers. It transformed the franchise by adopting a third-person perspective while retaining its core cooperative gameplay. Available on both PlayStation 5 and PC, the game has become one of Sony’s most successful titles, achieving critical acclaim and record-breaking sales.
Within three months of its release, Helldivers 2 sold over 12 million copies, becoming PlayStation’s fastest-selling game and Sony’s most successful PC title. Johan Pilestedt, the then-CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, celebrated the game’s early success, noting that it had surpassed their expectations. By February 24, 2024, the game had become the most actively played title on the PlayStation Network, overtaking popular titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Fortnite.
The momentum did not stop there. By March 2024, Helldivers 2 had reached 8 million units sold and achieved a peak of 450,000 concurrent players on Steam. Another remarkable milestone followed in May, as the game crossed the 12-million sales mark. Recognized as the best-selling title in regions such as Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada during its release period, Helldivers 2 continued to dominate charts into April 2024.
Arrowhead Studios has announced plans to expand its team and accelerate post-launch content to support the growing community in response to this sustained success. Johan Pilestedt expressed hopes for the Helldivers franchise to become as iconic as PlayStation’s flagship properties, including God of War and Uncharted.
Helldivers 2 was also rumored to arrive on the Xbox Series S|X, but later reports suggested that any plans to bring the franchise to Xbox might have been put to rest. The game is available now for PC and PS5.
