Helldivers 3 Won’t Happen Unless It’s Radically Different from Helldivers 2, Says Arrowhead

One of the more successful recent attempts at a live service game is Helldivers 2, published by Sony and developed by Arrowhead Studios. It seems the latter is in no rush to follow it up with a Helldivers 3.

Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt says a third game in the co-op shooter series would only get made if it’s very different from the current game, or if players simply stopped showing up.

That being said, there is something else in the works, but it sounds like it’s in the super early stages. Pilestedt tells RPS that 95 per cent of Arrowhead is continuing work on Helldivers 2, with a “small team” exploring new territory.

He says the developer sees Helldivers 2’s players “as the actual engine of the game: they’re the ones bringing in friends, making memes, and keeping the game alive. When you have an active community doing that, you don’t need a sequel.”

Pilestedt goes on to say that releasing another, similar game to Helldivers 2 would put them in direct competition with themselves.

“The industry is panicking because the old live-service tricks don’t work anymore […] And the biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2. It only makes sense to make a distinct sequel if it’s so different that both games can exist side by side. For now, making Helldivers 2 better every day makes way more sense than throwing away its momentum.”

“The industry is panicking because the old live-service tricks don’t work anymore […] And the biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2. It only makes sense to make a distinct sequel if it’s so different that both games can exist side by side. For now, making Helldivers 2 better every day makes way more sense than throwing away its momentum.”

What’s interesting about his statement here is that Helldivers 2 is vastly different from the original game.

Helldivers 1 shares some common features, like stratagems and friendly fire, but it’s played from a top-down perspective and doesn’t have nearly as sophisticated an online component as its sequel.

So, a potential Helldivers 3 would have to change things up all over again to make it a worthwhile pursuit.

These comments from Pilestedt echo those made about a year ago by CEO Shams Jorjani, who told fans Arrowhead would be working on Helldivers 2 indefinitely.

What do you think a sequel could look like? Are you content with carrying on in Helldivers 2? Tell us in the comments section below.