It’s not too often that unmitigated success, adulation and fan approval can be a negative thing… but 2024 has already been a bit of an oddball year, no?
Enter: “Helldivers 2,” a Sony-published shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios.
The numbered sequel to 2015’s “Helldivers” released on Feb. 8 and became an instant smash success, toppling a number of concurrent player records on PC, according to Windows Central.
It doesn’t take much to see why the game is as popular as it is.
“Helldivers 2” is, simply put, the video game adaptation of the seminal 1997 sci-fi cult classic “Starship Troopers” in everything but name only.
The game’s launch trailer does a solid job of capturing the helter-skelter space marine combat, quirky tone and general bombast of the game.
You can watch it for yourself below:
WARNING: The following clip contains images of violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
Of note, the game can only really be played online and with other actual human beings, as you and your squad mow down countless aliens in unison.
It’s a rip-roaring good time for anyone who likes playing shooters or games with friends.
But the multiplayer nature of the game, coupled with its immense popularity, has apparently overloaded the servers at Arrowhead Studios.
That issue has prompted swathes of prospective “Helldivers 2” players to spend as much time waiting in a queue as they are playing the game itself.
This whole technical mess prompted a curious X response from Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt.
Have you heard of the “Helldivers” franchise?
Responding to a fan who was lamenting his lack of expendable income to purchase “Helldivers 2,” Pilestedt offered some unusual advice for a CEO of a company: Maybe don’t buy our incredibly hot and popular product right now.
If you have no cash, get it later. While we made a really fun game it’s worth waiting until the servers can support the capacity.
I mean, as a CEO I of course want the game to be as profitable as possible, but if you spent yr last $ and got stuck in server queues I’d be 💔
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) February 20, 2024
“If you have no cash, get it later. While we made a really fun game it’s worth waiting until the servers can support the capacity,” Pilestedt posted to X. “I mean, as a CEO I of course want the game to be as profitable as possible, but if you spent yr last $ and got stuck in server queues I’d be [heartbroken].”
While Arrowhead is working on fixing the servers, per IGN, the company is opting to cap the number of players who can even play right now to “around 450,000” players at a time.
“Helldivers 2” is currently available on PC and the PlayStation 5.
