Summary
Even with ongoing login and server capacity issues,Helldivers 2continues to grow, this time passing a new concurrent player total and overtaking the immensely popular shooter,Counter Strike 2. The immediate success ofHelldivers 2has been both a blessing and a curse for Arrowhead Game Studios, who has struggled to adapt to the massive player numbers attempting to log in. While the studio and team are happy to see the game become a major success, becoming themost concurrently played Sony published game on Steam, the backend issues have continued to hold the experience back.
While Arrowhead continues to work on increasing server capacity behind the scenes, it has gotten to a point where studio members are suggesting fans stop buying the game. Recently, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt responded to a fan wondering if they should buy the game, suggesting thatHelldivers 2is worth waiting for until the servers can support the current capacity. However, it seems most players can’t wait to drop in as the concurrent numbers on Steam continue to rise, even bypassing a game that is consistently at the top of the charts.
According to theSteamDB charts, on February 20,Helldivers 2hit another massive concurrent player milestone, coming in at a peak number of 457,649. As the player numbers continue to rise, potentially compounding an already rough server capacity issue, this latest achievement is significant in that the all-time peak number forHelldivers 2was enough to unseatCounter-Strike 2from the top spot at that time of the day, something which just typically doesn’t happen. While recently updated to be a full-fledged sequel, the formerCSGOis consistently near the top of the player charts, so to see another game bypass it entirely at any point in the day was surprising to many in the community.
Just How Many People Are Playing Helldivers 2?
As many made mention in the Reddit thread, the other element to this is that these numbers are only from the Steam side of the game, so there’s no way of knowing specific player numbers over on the PlayStation Network. Clearly, the game is pulling in massive numbers, asHelldivers 2has already passed many significant milestones, including overtakingDestiny 2’s all-time concurrent peak on Steam as well as outperforming PSN stalwartsFortniteandCall of Duty.
Unfortunately, some of the goodwill that the community has affordedHelldivers 2during launch week appears to be slowly wearing off as many issues continue to persist. In fact,Helldivers 2’s user rating on Steam has dropped to Mixed, as more and more players are leaving more negative based reviews and opinions related to the ongoing capacity and login problems. It’s likely these opinions will change once Arrowhead can put an end to the current issues plaguing the game, but until then, things may continue to get a little worse before they get better.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
