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From its breakout launch highs to the lows of the PSN debacle, Helldivers 2 has had an up-and-down first year, to say the least. While its lead developers describe it as a "rollercoaster," they couldn't be more grateful to have been on it.
Helldivers 2 was one of the surprise hits of 2024, surpassing all expectations and netting plenty of critical and commercial success, including a few awards at this year's Golden Joysticks. But it hasn't all been a walk in the park, with controversy surrounding the introduction of the requirement to have a PSN account to play going down poorly with fans only months after release.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, game director Michael Eriksson and production director Alex Bolle were open about the year they've had, and how, despite the hardships, they feel privileged to have been on this ride. "It's very high highs, very low lows", explains Bolle. "The best thing in all that is everything we managed to do with the players. I think that's very valuable for Arrowhead. It's a big dive into learning and making a game that is live, that answers player expectations."
"I want to say, yes we've been on a rollercoaster," adds Eriksson, "but we're also in an extremely privileged position to be on this rollercoaster. I feel lucky to be on this ride with everyone. Not all studios, not all games, have this privilege. And so I'm super grateful for that. I think life should be interesting - I think life should be like living through an interesting book. I don't want to read through a book where it's like 'and then everything was ok'."
While player backlash to the PSN requirement was certainly a major blow to the team at Arrowhead Game Studios, for Eriksson, player interaction is exactly what has made the game such a pleasure to work on. "I think Helldivers is such an interesting game to make because it really is a case of the community making this game with us", he explains. "Reading on Reddit or other forums, people can be like 'wouldn't it be awesome if they added these vehicles, and tanks, and this type of environment?' and I'm reading that like 'yes, yes, yes, I want to do it, I want to do these things.'"
In the end, Helldivers 2 is a game for the players, and for Eriksson and Bolle, seeing their positive reactions has been worth grinding through the lows of 2024 for. "Being able to deliver this to the players, and have them experience that and see what their reactions are going to be to this - that's super exciting to me. Even with all the ups and downs, I'm so happy to be on this ride. And we're super committed to keeping the ride going for as long as we can", Eriksson concludes.
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