Helldivers 2 CEO's Honesty Shines As Game Hits 409K Players On Steam: 'Get It Later'

Helldivers 2, a third-person shooter game funded by Sony Group Corp. (NYSE: SONY), achieved an impressive milestone with 409,337 concurrent players on Valve's Steam over the weekend, making it the fifth most popular game on the platform.

This achievement is noteworthy considering its $40 price tag, unlike three of the top five games that are free-to-play.

Released on Feb. 8, the game experienced server issues due to overwhelming demand, with 155,000 players on its opening weekend.

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Improvements have since been made, leading to a near-tripling of players during the recent XP boost weekend, but the game continues to suffer from network stability and connection issues.

Although Palworld remains the top paid title on Valve’s PC platform with 430,723 players over the weekend, it's worth noting that Helldivers 2's success is particularly impressive given its $10 higher price compared to the Pokémon-inspired game, Kotaku reported.

Inspired by the movie "Starship Troopers," the game offers a satirical take on democracy in a futuristic setting where players battle against various enemies.

It's important to note that the player count mentioned is specific to PC, excluding players on PS5, although crossplay is available between the two platforms.

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt recently urged players not to purchase the game until the server capacity is improved, demonstrating refreshing honesty on Twitter.

In response to a user expressing a desire to buy the game despite financial constraints, Pilestedt replied: "If you have no cash, get it later."

"While we made a really fun game it’s worth waiting until the servers can support the capacity. I mean, as a CEO I of course want the game to be as profitable as possible, but if you spent yr last $ and got stuck in server queues I’d be (heartbroken)," he added.

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Image courtesy: Arrowhead Game Studios via Steam.