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Helldivers 2 became an instant smash hit when it launched in February 2024, with the game going on to sell over eight million copies in its first month. The original game failed to crack 7,000 concurrent players on Steam at its peak, whereas the sequel regularly sees 200,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, with it peaking at over 450,000 concurrent players, and that isn’t including PlayStation gamers.
The game has a very active community, whether it is on the official Discord and sub-Reddit, both of which have over one million members, or the many Facebook fan groups. It has been many years since I have seen a game gain this much engagement and popularity and maintain it with no sign of slowing down, and now it looks like it has gotten so popular that it is the talk at the water cooler.
U/Kaleon has taken to Reddit to share some experiences they have had in their small town where it seems like every one of its citizens moonlight as Helldivers. In the post, they detail how they have heard people discuss the game at the supermarket, coffee shop, and even at the butchers saying,
“I went to buy groceries at the supermarket. The butcher counter guys and the self-checkout guys were each talking about Helldivers. Then I went next door for coffee on the way home. The baristas were also talking about Helldivers.
The next day I went for a walk near my house. Some dog walkers were talking about Helldivers. Later I went out for a burger. On the way there I saw at least one Helldivers bumper sticker. While I waited for my burger to cook, the occupants of two tables were talking to each other about Helldivers.
Today I went back to the store. A butcher and a barista from the other day were loitering outside discussing Helldivers. I wonder where I will meet the next one.”
Other players also shared their stories of encountering fellow Helldivers out in the wild, with u/Wallio_ meeting a fellow Helldiver at the bar winding down after a long day of serving Liber-tea, who yelled at them saying “ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT HELLDIVERS? THAT GAME IS AWESOME!”
U/aegis_solus works as a bartender and said that they serve many Helldivers who have just returned from battle against the Automatons and Terminids saying “As a bartender, the past few weeks have been nothing but talks with patrons about helldivers. It’s great.”
Reading this thread has made me realize that I am one of the people they are talking about. I spend most of my day writing about Helldivers 2, I wonder if VideoGamer will change my job title to Super Earth Correspondent, that would give me the coolest resumé ever, and then I spend my evenings bringing democracy to the galaxy and talking about it whether online or with friends every chance I get.
It is great to see Helldivers 2 become such a phenomenon in the gaming industry, it does remind me of when Fortnite first blew up in early 2018 and it was covered on the news, everyone would be talking about it, and kids would be doing their best recreations of popular emotes.
If you have yet to become a Helldiver, now is the perfect time to do so as players have just completed the most difficult Major Order yet and the community is more united than ever and it is so much fun to play. When you do join the fight for democracy, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide so you can be well-equipped to join the fight against the Automatons and Terminids. See you on the battlefield.
