By Sagar V. Mankar Helldivers 2 has become one of the biggest gaming hits of the year, with sales far exceeding initial projections.
The sequel to Arrowhead Game Studios’ 2015 co-op shooter currently (24th Feb) surpassed 458,000 concurrent players on Steam, an impressive figure for an indie title.
Helldivers 2 Server Capacity Reaches 800,000 Players
To keep up with massive demand, Arrowhead has repeatedly expanded Helldivers 2’s server capacity since its launch.
Most recently they increased the concurrent user limit to a whopping 800,000 players from 450,000 on Steam.
This ensures smooth performance for the game’s ballooning user base and allows the studio to focus on new content and features.
Helldivers 2 Sold 3 Million+ Copies
The game has vastly exceeded sales expectations since its launch, becoming one of the biggest surprise hits of the year.
Helldivers 2 may have sold over 3 million copies according to estimates based on hints from the game’s CEO Johan Pilestedt who replied to X users who tried to estimate the sales numbers.
In the UK physical games market, sales rose 40% from the first to the second week, which is extremely rare for any game.
Helldivers 2 was also the best-selling game in the UK in its 3rd week, outselling Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones by 2.5 times.
The sales split between PC and PlayStation 5 was 60/40 in favor of PC during the second week in Europe, Australia, and other markets.
The massive sales figures show the game’s broad appeal across both console and PC platforms.
As an indie title from a mid-size studio, the breakout success of Helldivers 2 has far surpassed expectations.
Arrowhead CEO: DLSS ‘Not Necessary’ for Helldivers 2
Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt made waves by stating Nvidia DLSS tech, while “cool,” is not necessary for Helldivers 2.
The co-op shooter uses its own Temporal Super Resolution for upscaling and runs smoothly even on modest hardware like the RTX 3060.
Since CPU limits performance more than GPU according to Pilestedt, upscalers like DLSS may not drastically improve framerates.
However, frame generation features like DLSS 3 could help in CPU-bound scenarios.
Though DLSS may lack urgency, Pilestedt says Arrowhead could add it alongside AMD FSR in the future.
For now, stability and content take priority over new tech.
Still, giving players more options is never a bad thing.
If added down the road, DLSS and FSR would further polish an already well-optimized PC experience.
The Meta Debate: Should Helldivers 2 Players Conform to ‘Optimal’ Loadouts?
A debate has emerged around whether Helldivers 2 players should conform to “meta” load-outs and strategies or risk getting kicked from matches by hardcore players.
Some fans argue certain weapons and stratagems work best and that teammates should use these optimized builds.
However, many believe rigidity goes against the spirit of the game.
Playing for enjoyment and camaraderie should take priority over mandating the ‘best’ gear, they say.
While the constructive debate around strategy keeps the Helldivers community vibrant, calls to exclude others over load-outs seem misguided.
As one Redditor put it, “The correct loadout is the one you have fun with.”