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In 2024, PlayStation released two exclusive multiplayer games: the quickly-killed hero shooter Concord and Helldivers 2. While Concord failed to hit audiences due to a lack of unique value, Arrowhead Game Studios’ frenetic third-person co-op game rocked the world.
With the arrival of The Illuminate, player numbers are ramping way back up, but the game has struggled since release. After huge nerfs caused review bombs, fans were left hungrily awaiting the arrival of the third enemy faction. Now, the studio feels like its finally in a great place, but admits that the sheer volume of player numbers took the team by storm.
Helldivers 2 devs weren’t prepared
Speaking to GamesRadar, game director Michael Eriksson explained that the team were “not prepared for this, for the amount of attention and success” when the game released earlier this tear.
“It’s definitely true that internally, some of the processes were not working as well as they should be working,” he continued. “We lacked some key people in some places, just because it’s a big beast to control when you have this massive of a hit. In that period after launch, we did make some mistakes, just because of this chaotic nature.”
Eriksson explained that “sometimes we will fail even though we’re doing our best” but the team is in a better place to handle the massive fanbase in a way it wasn’t before. With new systems such as the Wildlife faction in the works, alongside events like the Killzone crossover, the team is more prepared to release updates at regular intervals.
“It’s definitely true that internally, some of the processes were not working as well as they should be working,” the developer explained. “We lacked some key people in some places, just because it’s a big beast to control when you have this massive of a hit. In that period after launch, we did make some mistakes, just because of this chaotic nature.”
Errikson explained that the team won’t be making sure every update is perfect before release. In fact, with a better team structure and the ability to quickly release hotfixes and the like, the team is prepared to keep taking risks to create a fun and engaging game.
“Hopefully it will be less of a bumpy road when it comes to release accuracy, but we’re still prepared to take risks, to deliver on everything that the players want, and hopefully, there will be a smooth ride going forward,” they said.
For more Helldivers coverage, read about the new destructive stratagem coming to the game as part of its Killzone crossover.
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