What you need to know
- Developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by PlayStation Studios, Helldivers 2 first launched back in February 2024 on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC.
- The title has been a huge success, regularly staying at the top of the best-seller lists on Steam and the PlayStation Store.
- During a financial earnings call, PlayStation parent company Sony confirmed that Helldivers 2 has sold over 12 million copies so far.
- This makes Helldivers 2 the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game yet.
Arrowhead Game Studios’ war on bugs and bots continued to reach new successful heights.
Helldivers 2 has crossed 12 million copies sold as of May 5, 2024, as shared during a Sony earnings call and reiterated by Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt via Twitter.
“It’s crazy to think that there are more Helldivers than there are Swedes,” he wrote. “What a massive achievement from everyone involved in realizing @Helldivers2. A massive thank you to the community for your support, passion and dedication in the fight for democracy! All love.”
This makes Helldivers 2 the latest game to lay claim to the crown of being the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever. Previous claimants included The Last of Us Part 2 in 2020, which reached 4 million copies sold in its first three days, as well as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in 2023, which crossed 2.5 million copies sold in its first 24 hours. Obviously, the definite “winner” depends on exactly what timeframe is being compared, but with Helldivers 2 being measured over a course of months, not days, its success is indisputable.
Helldivers 2 was the best-selling game of February 2024 in the U.S, per Circana, with the firm also confirming it was the second best-selling game of March 2024 in the U.S. Unlike many PlayStation Studios games on Windows PC, which are ported a year or two after the initial console launch, Helldivers 2 was available from day one on both PlayStation 5 and PC.
PlayStation leadership is also changing soon
Alongside this big win comes big shake-ups, with a chance in how PlayStation leadership structure works. Following the departure of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan earlier this year, Sony has announced Ryan’s successors. Yes, plural.
Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, is set to become CEO of the new Studio Business Group, which encompasses PlayStation’s first-party games business, as well as PlayStation Productions film and TV efforts. Meanwhile, Hideaki Nishino, a 16-year veteran at PlayStation, will be CEO of the new Platform Business Group, encompasses relationships with third-party developers, as well as hardware, features, and networks.
These changes are set to take place on June 1, 2024, with Sony president Hiroki Totoki retaining his role as chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Both Nishino and Hulst will report to Totoki moving forward.
Analysis: A much-needed live service win
Helldivers 2 has been a gargantuan success, and it’s one that’s sorely needed after many of PlayStation’s various live-service ventures have fizzled out, including the now-cancelled The Last of Us Online at Naughty Dog and the fantasy multiplayer game at London Studio, the latter of which was recently shuttered in a brutal round of cuts that saw 900 PlayStation employees laid off.
With Firewalk Studios’ first-person shooter Concord slated to launch later this year, I expect we will continue to see more and more of an emphasis on PlayStation games launching on PC as well as console day one, including future single-player games.
