Original article: Arrowhead Game Studios' critically acclaimed third-person co-op shooter Helldivers 2 finally released on Xbox earlier this week on August 26 — complete with full crossplay with other platforms — and it was quite the historic occasion for both users of Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S consoles as well as the game's community at large.
Not only was the title's arrival accompanied by an incredible Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST crossover Warbond complete with meticulously recreated Halo 3: ODST gear that fits perfectly into the game, but it also marked the first time a Sony-published PlayStation console exclusive came over to the other side. Indeed, until this week, Helldivers 2 was only playable on PS5 and Windows PC through Steam.
Because of those two factors — and because Helldivers 2 itself is an award-winning action game Xbox players have sorely wanted access to since it came out early last year — excitement for the port was in orbit heading into its launch. It's not terribly surprising, then, that it's absolutely blown up in the wake of that release on Tuesday.
As posts and comments on the Helldivers 2 subreddit referencing its in-game player count tracker show, the game was hovering at roughly 380-420K total players during peak hours on Xbox launch day, with SteamDB showing that only 167,795 of those divers were PC users. That means roughly 200-250K were active on consoles, and it's clear that the majority of players in that pool were on Xbox.
The good old days… from r/Helldivers
That's an absolutely massive turnout, and one so large that it's even caused server crashes; at one point, 390K divers were fighting across the galaxy and spreading Managed Democracy, only for a massive crash to plummet the player count down to 146,818.
Thankfully, though, there haven't been many game-wide crashes like this at all, and while there have been some silly Xbox bugs here and there that aren't exactly surprising to see from game ports these days, Helldivers 2 seems to by and large run quite well on Microsoft's consoles.
Notably, these reinforcements from the Xbox Corps couldn't have come at a better time, as players are currently in the thick of an absurd Major Order that requires 8.5 billion kills across the Terminid, Automaton, and Illuminate fronts. As the community-made Helldivers Companion site shows, swelling ranks have done much to boost the Helldivers' progress.
Then there's the Into the Unjust update coming September 2 — a content drop centered around the Terminids in which we'll be deploying to special "hive worlds" terraformed completely by the bugs.
On these, there will be special new subterranean missions in which Super Earth's finest take the fight underground, cutting through bug hordes to reach critical objectives with extremely limited options for supplies and air support. Additionally, there will also be missions on the surface, including one that will see players driving around a mobile oil drill they have to protect.
Into the Unjust will also introduce new Terminid enemies to contend with, such as bugs that can burrow underground to avoid fire and change position and a colossal flying Dragonroach that is essentially a Bile Titan with wings.
The good news, though, is we'll be getting a new Dust Devils Warbond two days after the update's launch on September 4, complete with a "Coyote" incendiary assault rifle, a "Pineapple" cluster grenade, a long-range anti-tank MS-11 Solo Silo fortification that delivers thunderous firepower with lethal precision, and more.
As a hardcore fan that's played Helldivers 2 for over 500 hours now and has watched the game's popularity rise and fall across various updates, it's awesome to see it skyrocket up to some of its older peaks like this.
The surge of Xbox players jumping into the co-op shooter have clearly renewed significant interest; as I write this, Helldivers 2 is also at the top of Steam's Top Sellers list, and it's seen a huge jump in its PC player count, too. All in all, it's simply a phenomenal time to be a Helldiver, whether you're a longtime veteran of the Galactic War like me or a recruit fresh out of boot camp.
The Helldivers subreddit is full of lighthearted posts like new players experiencing some of the game's comedic friendly fire shenanigans or wholesome crossplay interactions between helpful experienced divers and new Xbox ones eager to learn, and I've had a ton of fun scrolling through them all. Speaking of, I put together my own list of 7 must-know tips for every new Xbox Helldiver, so check it out if that's you.
Helldivers 2 is now available across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via Steam), and PS5 for $39.99. However, you can pick it up on PC for considerably less thanks to a deal that brings it down to $35.09 at CDKeys. There's also the $59.99 with some cosmetic extras, which is just $49.89 at CDKeys.
