REACTION - The runaway success of Helldivers 2 further proves viability for mid tier priced games
Making it rain for democracy.
By Jonathan Garrett
22/02/24
After what feels like an avalanche of closures, lay offs and other bad news, here comes a little gem called Helldivers 2. As a result, we’re reminded of two things; Starship Troopers is a woefully overhyped movie, and games that aren’t built around endless monetisation tactics can find a sizeable audience. Four player co-op, dynamic physics, and an ever evolving shared world conflict certainly help things too!
We’re absolutely thrilled for developer Arrowhead, who are clearly working to the bone managing server capacity and keeping things running smoothly. The game itself isn’t borked, but concurrent demand has far exceeded even their wildest estimates. It’s a premium product, and therefore should be accessible, but their communication on this has been crystal clear.
Beyond that, £34.99 is a fantastic price for a mechanically polished, multiplayer only title. There is also a well established precedent of Arrowhead supporting their games well after launch, with the original Helldivers receiving multiple large expansions. Long may this trend continue. AAA publishers: you’ve got a lot to consider here. I hope very much that similarly priced games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will have a nice long tail, as they deserve to find success.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
