The cooperative live service shooter Helldivers 2 has been a runaway success for developer Arrowhead Studios. It was one of the PlayStation 5’s biggest games last year, and has had similar results on Xbox since launching over the summer. If it’s up to the company’s CEO, the team plans to ride that game’s success indefinitely so long as the players are there for it.
Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani took to the game’s Discord this week and shared his thoughts on the possibility of a sequel. After a fan asked about the studio’s future plans for the series, Jorjani shot down the idea like an insectoid fascist roaming the galactic territories of Super Earth.
“We have no plans for Helldivers 3 — just Helldivers 2 for as long as it can go,” he wrote. “Think Runescape.”
Runescape is a pretty apt comparison. The free-to-play MMO first launched in 2001 and has continued strong as one of the most popular games in the genre ever since. While it technically got two sequels, the follow-ups largely represented an updated version of the original game with technical upgrades and quality of life improvements. If Arrowhead is looking to be an evergreen experience that relies on periodic updates to keep things fresh, Runescape is as good a game to aspire to.
“Myself and the directors agree we would love this to be a forever game,” he continued. “Assuming we get a grip on the performance and dev practices, we can keep expanding it for a long time. PlayStation is super supportive.”
Even if the opportunity arose to work on a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration, Jorjani said that the team’s focus is entirely on its original universe. “As a studio, we made a cool internal [Star Wars] Tie Fighter demo like eight years ago as a palette cleanser,” he said. “But no such plans. Full focus on Helldivers 2.”
When you have a game as successful as Helldivers 2 was, it only makes sense to throw all of your weight behind supporting it. It sold very well when it was released in February 2024, becoming one of the year’s biggest hits. The game’s Xbox release in August shot it back up to number four on Newzoo’s monthly gaming revenue chart.
While Arrowhead is focused on Helldivers 2, the developer does have other mystery games that it’s working on. Earlier this month, a player asked the developers about a new Destiny 2-style social hub being added to the game at some point. Jorjani responded on Reddit that the feature, which would allow the game’s community to share a common space when not on missions, would be coming to the developer’s next game. Since we now know that the next game isn’t Helldivers 3, it’s possible we see a brand new game from the Swedish studio.
It’s been a big few weeks for Helldivers. On the same day the game launched on Xbox, it added Halo ODST-themed weapons and armor to commemorate the occasion. Earlier this month, it kicked off its latest season, titled Into the Unjust. The free update adds a new operation type, subterranean battles, and new Terminid enemies that force players to put new strategies to use.
