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Helldivers 2 is the smash hit release of 2024, with it selling over 12 million copies in its first three months and building a highly engaged community. Unfortunately, a few bad decisions by both the developers, Arrowhead Game Studios, and it’s publisher Sony has put the game in a downward spiral as players are turning away and moving on to other titles.
According to Steamdb, Helldivers 2 is at its lowest when it comes to player count. Just a few weeks ago the game was averaging over 150,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, now it has been approximately 10 days since it reached over 100,000. There are many reasons for this though, and it is possible that Arrowhead Game Studios could turn it around.
The recent PSN controversy eroded a lot of goodwill with the community, a situation that still hasn’t been resolved despite Sony backtracking on its plans just two days later. Currently, 180 countries have been restricted from the game which will certainly play a part in the lower player count.
There hasn’t been much to work towards unlocking in some time now. The latest Stratagem that players can unlock is the Exosuit Mech at level 25, but with the level cap now at 150, it means that it doesn’t take long for players to run out of items to grind for. The latest Polar Patriots Warbond wasn’t a hit with players, with many of the weapons falling flat and not becoming part of the meta, giving players less incentive to work towards unlocking them.
Speaking of weapons, Arrowhead Game Studios’ focus on nerfing weapons and over balancing has turned some players off as many of the weapons are no longer enjoyable to use. The developers have stated that they will be improving balancing after going too far with nerfing, but it could be too little too late at this point.
And finally, the lower player count could be the result of natural burnout. With Helldivers 2 being out for three months, many players were jumping into the game on a daily basis and now may simply needs a change of pace and to play something new for a while. Once the game sees new content added, it will likely attract some of the community back, such as the arrival of The Illuminate.
If you’re still playing Helldivers 2, then the latest Major Order is one that we are sure to win, with players tasked with killing 3.1 billion Automatons and Terminids. To ensure victory against the enemy, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons guide and best armor guide so you can wipe out hundreds of enemies each mission to continue to bring democracy to the galaxy as the Galactic War rages on.