Helldivers 2's Xbox launch has, unsurprisingly, led to a huge boost in player numbers. You may want to attribute this purely to the newbies, but the Steam numbers are shooting up, too, thanks to the new Halo 3: ODST-inspired Warbond.
The all-time peak for Helldivers 2 on Steam is 458,709 concurrent players, which occurred right at launch and caused the game servers to become incredibly unstable. Yesterday, the player count surged from around 50,000 to over 150,000 on PC, and console numbers boosted that number even further.
To little surprise, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani writes on the game's Discord: "This is gonna be a bit awkward…. but can I ask you to stop shitting your pants somehow?" alongside a screenshot showing over half a million players were Helldiving at that moment. It's become a running gag for Jorjani to mention our pants turning brown – don't ask me why.
So, clearly, this isn't just Xbox players joining the fray, but everyone jumping back in to greet the new recruits and get their hands on the first-ever Legendary Warbond.
And I can see why. It contains the ODST's iconic silenced SMG, as well as a magnum and Halo 3's assault rifle and shotgun – all very cool for fans of the (now retro) FPS. You can see everything in the ODST Warbond, right here.
Sony allowing Helldivers 2 to make its way over to Xbox could mark a turning point for the company. Microsoft has been saying everything is an Xbox for a while now, but PlayStation has seemed to want to remain distinct. Hopefully, this signals an end to console exclusivity.
For now, check out all the best online games you can play with your friends today.
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