Arrowhead boss wants Helldivers 2 to be a "forever game" like RuneScape that can keep improving, with "no plans" for a sequel

Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Helldivers 2 has only been around for a little over a year and a half – and what a time it's been for the mega-best-seller – but developer Arrowhead Game Studios apparently already has ambitions to continue updating the live service juggernaut for... forever?

Arrowhead's CEO Shams Jorjani lifted the curtain a little bit this week in a series of messages on the game's Discord server, where he explained the studio has "no plans for [Helldivers 3] – just [Helldivers 2] for as long as it can go" before telling folks to "think RuneScape" to get an idea of how it would work.

Of course, RuneScape did eventually get a RuneScape 2 (with a rewritten engine and better graphics) and then a RuneScape 3, but both were more 'updated RuneScape' that replaced the original and less 'entirely new RuneScape' on top of the original, so Jorjani's point still stands

"Myself and the directors agree we would love this to be a forever game," Jorjani says. "Assuming we get a grip on the performance and dev practices we can keep expanding it for a long time. PlayStation is super supportive."

Those pesky performance issues are proving to be a major thorn in Arrowhead's side at the moment, with the game's Steam rating falling to 'Mixed' and the developers promising "a bigger development plan" to tackle tech issues.

Still, as long as those under-the-hood problems get sorted, theoretically there's nothing stopping Arrowhead from dragging out this Galactic War until the heat death of the universe. More factions, weapons, mission types, maybe even space battles until the sun explodes, please.

Arrowhead CEO says a Helldivers 2 Fortnite crossover is "not a priority" right now, "but who knows one day. FN is cool. And quite big"

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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