It’s the Helldivers 2 Double XP weekend! Keep in mind that even if the Helldivers 2 servers may be marked as down, not everyone can access them. Rather, it could simply indicate that you are about to encounter some major problems, as other people have apparently encountered similar obstacles. Good luck with it.
Since its release last week, Arrowhead Game Studios’ frantic new cooperative third-person point-and-click shooter Helldivers 2, which plays like a cross between Starship Troopers and Terminator’s harsh sci-fi warfare, has taken the internet by storm.
Over 150,000 concurrent players on Steam last weekend set a new record for PlayStation Studios; as of this writing on Tuesday, there are just under 124,000 of them. Despite the bugs and launch issues that have resulted from all that success, the number of fans willing to contribute has continued to grow, and the game itself remains at the top of Steam’s Top Sellers chart.
Ironically, the announcement of a Helldivers 2 double XP weekend dropped as an apology for the inconsistent service during the week, which is probably what prompted the most recent Helldivers 2 outage.
Due to this bug, mission rewards were occasionally not paid out. The Helldivers 2 double XP boost was implemented to appease the player population during its first, probably extremely busy, weekend.
As long as you finish the majority of each mission’s objectives, Helldivers 2 double XP and Requisition cash payouts are already very substantial, but this weekend they’ll be even bigger. This is because the third-person cooperative PvE shooter’s developer, Arrowhead Game Studios, is offering all players a 50% boost to XP and Requisition prizes from now until midnight CET (3:00 p.m. PT, 6:00 p.m. ET) on Sunday, February 18
The company is making the offer in an effort to “alleviate the impact” of a known problem in Helldivers 2, a flaw that periodically keeps players from receiving their earned goodies after completing a task. While Arrowhead is “working on a fix for this,” players who are impacted should be able to recover the progress they have unjustly lost.
Gamers are glad to see that Arrowhead is trying to make up for the inconveniences caused to fans by the game’s debut, and since this incentive is available to all players, everyone will win. I was going to spend most of my free time this weekend playing this game anyway, because I’ve grown addicted to spreading democracy around the galaxy, but now I have even more motivation to, well, dive into hell and blow up hordes of bugs and robots.
Notably, among the most significant rewards you’ll receive from playing the cooperative shooter are both Helldivers 2 double XP and Requisitions. The former increases your level and unlocks new, potent stratagem call-ins such as orbital bombardments, heavy support weapons, and airstrikes; the latter is required to utilize these in the field.
It wouldn’t surprise players in the slightest if this game’s incredible popularity is the only reason the mission rewards issue exists at all. Since its premiere on February 8, it has over 150,000 concurrent players on Steam, setting a new record for PlayStation Studios publishing. Since then, it often achieves at least 200,000 in the nights. It reached a new all-time high of 255,189 last night, and ever since it went on sale, it has topped Steam’s Top Sellers list.
Even though the main objective of Arrowhead’s popular new third-person shooter game is teaming up with other space marines to destroy Automaton robots and blow Terminid bugs to bits, some players have been asking the developer if player-versus-player (PvP) will ever be added to the game. Johan Pilestedt, the creative director of Helldivers 2 and CEO of Arrowhead, responded by adamantly declaring on X (Twitter) that PvP will never materialize.
Notably, the game’s wildly successful launch is a major factor in the studio’s decision to “accelerate and beef up” its development plans. Over 150,000 players concurrently played Helldivers 2 on Steam last weekend, setting a new record for PlayStation Studios publishing. Since then, the game has been approaching or surpassing 200,000 players every evening.
In the end, there isn’t currently a roadmap for further Helldivers 2 content, but the official Helldivers 2 Discord server has received confirmation from Arrowhead’s Community & Support team that one is on the way. I expect ambitious plans for lots of new democracy-spreading weapons, gear, and stratagem call-ins, as well as new enemies to blast apart and new worlds to liberate, given that the studio’s stated goal is “being the best co-op studio in the world” and that it’s “hellbent on making this the best co-op game of all time.”
The unexpected popularity of the game since its mid-February introduction has resulted in a number of problems; occasionally matchmaking lags severely, and other times the servers crash completely.
This is not unique to Helldivers 2; most of the top multiplayer games have similar problems as a result of their unexpected popularity. Real-world server loads are difficult to predict and even more difficult to test for in advance. Because of how quickly popularity can decline, scaling infrastructure to match demand requires resources and is frequently not cost-effective. The spread of viruses is erratic.
After a few fixes and network enhancements were implemented, the game’s explosive start caused a number of glitches and startup troubles, particularly with the servers. However, things have significantly stabilized in the last few days. And now that Helldivers 2’s toughest technical problems should be behind us, Arrowhead can concentrate on improving what is already among the top PC games of 2024.
Helldivers 2 has swiftly emerged as one of the best cooperative games to play with friends and my favorite game of 2024 thus far because to its incredible gunplay, stressful, high-octane action that almost necessitates great coordination, flawless visual presentation, and excellent sound design.
I’m thrilled that Arrowhead is using this historic launch to expedite its plans for the game’s future, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on that forthcoming roadmap. Helldivers 2 definitely has a bright future in store.
For more coverage, check out other Gaming topics.
More E-Sports news:
Follow our dedicated E-Sports page for instant E-Sports news and updates