Helldivers 2 launched on PS5 and Steam in February 2024 and was immediately well received by many gamers. It quickly became clear: The co-op shooter is a huge success. Now, Helldivers 2 is one year old. How has the surprise hit been doing since then?
What kind of game is Helldivers 2? Helldivers 2 is a co-op shooter that primarily impresses with its humorous presentation in a serious setting and packed action. Intense explosions regularly create a nearly cinematic atmosphere.
Within the first 12 weeks of release, Helldivers 2 sold over 12 million copies on PS5 and PC, Sony stated (via sony.com), publishing the shooter under “PlayStation Publishing.” On Steam, Helldivers reached a peak of 458,000 concurrent players about a year ago, on February 19, 2024 (via SteamDB).
If you missed the huge hype around the game last year, we summarize the most important information about Helldivers 2 for you here:
What sets Helldivers 2 apart?
- In Helldivers 2, you fight with squads of up to 4 players against countless enemies. You are a Helldiver sent from over-earth to various planets to complete a mission.
- You battle against gigantic bugs, nasty robots, or since December, against the extraterrestrial civilization of the Illuminated. You have various firearms and air and orbital strikes available to blow up numerous enemies in one go.
- Helldivers 2 features friendly fire. This often leads to funny situations when your orbital strike obliterates your best friends with a massive explosion.
- Helldivers 2 has a very intrusive humor that parodies “the world police” and some political views or ideologies through exaggerated representation. This is especially true for the conducted war to spread freedom and democracy.
- However, a Helldiver is not an immortal super soldier. Helldivers are sent to their deaths in droves. When you die, your Helldiver does not respawn; a replacement is sent via a landing capsule.
You can see a trailer for Helldivers 2 here:
Helldivers fought against criticism, not just against bugs and robots
How did the months after release go? In March, one month after release, the developers released a patch that nerfed the community’s favorite weapons – and this did not go down well. The community was really angry. In April, the next big wave of nerfs followed. Again, the players were not very pleased. However, this did not change the fact that in the following weeks and months, further nerfs would come.
However, the criticism of the nerfs was overshadowed by an intense controversy. Starting in May 2024, it was announced: Anyone playing Helldivers 2 on Steam needs a PSN account. This also applied to players who do not own a PS5 or another Sony console.
Many players criticized Sony’s decision because they did not want to be forced into a PSN account. Others criticized the PSN requirement because the service is not available in their home country. They would not have been able to play the co-op shooter, which is why Sony even stopped the sale of Helldivers 2 in some countries.
Helldivers 2 experienced heavy review bombing. That is, thousands of players wrote negative reviews on Steam to express their frustration, even though they actually liked the game – successfully. After the intense criticism, Sony backtracked on the PSN requirement.
Helldivers 2 aims to make amends
For months, the relationship between players, who actually love Helldivers 2, and the developers was tense – even though the PSN debacle ultimately ended well for the community. The many nerfs still regularly heated discussions.
In August 2024, Helldivers 2 began its quest for redemption, and the developers promised to fix the game in the following 60 days. In the months that followed, there were many buffs for numerous weapons. Instead of nerfing the best weapons, the developers listened to the community’s wishes and improved the comparatively weak weapons.
However, one wish from the community remained unfulfilled for a while: a new enemy faction. Some players lost interest in always fighting against the same enemies, i.e., the bugs and the robots. Then in December came the long-awaited update: The Illuminated are finally in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 in February 2025 – The state of the shooter
Helldivers 2 is now a year old and is still doing well. In the past 30 days, there have been an average of 45,000 players online on Steam. On the recent February 9, nearly 93,000 Helldivers were fighting for over-earth on Steam (via SteamCharts). PS5 players are not included. Since the community remains active, you can easily find teammates if you don’t want to go solo.
Additionally, the developers continue to roll out updates. There are regular patches with buffs and new content. Just on February 4, the new war bond “Servants of Freedom” began, introducing a new powerful handgun to the game. But especially the new enemies have brought fresh wind into the game. The battles against the Illuminated feel very different than against the robots and bugs, and the urban setting is a successful change of pace.
Gameplay-wise, Helldivers 2 is currently at a really good point. Thanks to the many buffs, you can play with weapons and stratagems that are not meta but still fun for you. Many weapons are really useful, even if they might not be suitable for the highest difficulty levels.
MyMMO editor Dariusz also experienced that there are currently fewer trolls and game wreckers in the game. Helldivers 2 is no longer in the hype, and mostly the players who enjoy the co-op shooter have remained – and that includes playing together with other Helldivers.
A good time to return
Is Helldivers 2 worth it in 2025? Yes, now is a good time to check out Helldivers 2 again – especially if you haven’t played since December and aren’t familiar with the new enemies.
But don’t hesitate to lower the difficulty a bit at first after a long break and test the weapons. A lot has changed in the game over the past six months, and it’s no shame to need to get used to the processes again.
If you decide to jump back in and are unsure which weapon to choose, feel free to take a look at our tier list. There you can see which equipment is a good choice for your mission: Helldivers 2: Tier List for the best weapons and grenades for every mission
