Helldivers 2 is currently experiencing a slump. Player numbers on Steam have reached a low point, and fans of the shooter can easily relate to this.
What kind of slump is this? Helldivers 2 was one of the hype games at the beginning of the year alongside the survival game Palworld, delighting hundreds of thousands of players. The co-op shooter reached a peak of just over 458,000 on Steam in February, but it has been steadily declining since then.
By June 2024, Helldivers had only a peak of about 91,700 players on Steam, with an average of 40,400 people on the servers. In February, an average of 274,000 players plunged into the galactic war (via SteamCharts).
Looking at the average player numbers, Helldivers 2 has thus lost around 85% of its players since February – and currently, there are no signs that the downward trend could stop.
Fans can understand the drop in player numbers
What do fans say about the slump? Many players can relate to the current slump. However, for many it is not due to any issues, such as the fiasco with the PlayStation accounts, but rather the lack of new content.
For example, the user “SilicaBags” writes on Reddit: “I haven’t avoided the game in protest against anything. I’m just bored and have no reason to start it other than to spend MO medals [Note: MO= Major Order].”
The player “Dyyrin” takes a similar stance in his comment and says: “I plan to return when new factions come. I’m tired of defending the same planets and fighting the same two factions.” Over 2,200 users show their agreement with an upvote.
Another user writes on Reddit: “Unfortunately, it became boring for me way too quickly. I haven’t even reached max level, but I lost interest in the grind.”
How could Helldivers turn things around? Palworld currently shows that a larger update can at least partially bring players back. While the survival game had a peak of just under 45,000 players in May, the “Sakurajima Update” released at the end of June boosted those numbers to 143,000 players.
Helldivers could experience something similar with a major update that brings new enemies, for example. The fans of the co-op shooter have been expecting the arrival of the Illuminated for months. These are aliens who fought against the forces of the Over-Earth in Helldivers 1: In Helldivers 2, everyone is waiting for the Illuminated – Here’s what we know about the nasty aliens
