Helldivers 2 just released and its launch issues and microtransactions are already the talk of the town. Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt shares his response on both matters. Read on to learn more about Arrowhead’s philosophy on microtransactions.
Helldivers 2 Devs Address the Game’s Launch Issues
Too Many Concurrent Players Cited as Reason for Issues
Following a trend of live service games suffering login issues on launch, Helldivers 2 — Arrowhead Studios’ third-person sequel to 2015’s top-down shooter of the same name — experienced server connection and reward-tracking issues as the game’s concurrent players started to pile up.
Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt addressed the issue through Twitter (X) in a post going over the whole situation. "If for any reason you get the ‘Failed to Connect to Server’ issue, it means that the maximum number of login requests for that particular minute is exceeded and/or that the servers are full and will require someone to log out before allowing new players in," he wrote.
Pilestedt chalked up the connection and reward-tracking issues to limited server capability, although he did sympathize with the players who wanted to dive right into the fray, saying "For now once again, please accept our sincere apologies for the issues you’re facing and, rest assured, we’re doing our utmost to make it right."
A patch for PC players experiencing these issues has already been implemented at the time of writing. This patch addressed the server capacity, login access, and reward system issues that plagued the game on launch.
Arrowhead CEO Says Games Must "Earn the Right to Monetize"
That’s not all the discussion to be had about Helldiver 2’s recent release, as Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt took to Twitter (X) to answer burning questions from the fanbase. On the topic of microtransactions, Pilestedt reassured curious fans that they made a conscious effort to not make the game pay-to-win.
"I'm partial but we really applied ourselves to not make it p2w even though items are functionally different," said Pilestedt in response to a post admonishing players who called Helldivers 2 a pay-to-win game. "the only item that's p2w is the revolver - which will win you any cool gun
competition. Only (minor) problem is that it's not that good."
Pilestedt also responded to a fan who was praising Helldivers 2’s monetization scheme, which was far more accessible and forgiving than other live service games available on PlayStation. "You have to earn the right to monetize - I truly believe that. If people want to support this title they have an option, but we are never forcing anyone to do so."
True enough, Helldivers 2’s microtransactions are different from many live service games of its ilk, the key difference being the player’s ability to earn virtual currencies through gameplay. This is a far cry from the predatory practices other games subject their players to, like Blizzard with Overwatch 2 and Diablo: Immortal, so it’s no wonder that Helldivers 2 is rocketing up the charts.
Sources:
Helldivers 2 dev says games ‘need to earn the right to monetise’
Helldivers 2 Official Patch 01.000.005 Notes
