Arrowhead Sport Studios will solely make a Helldivers 3 if it is lightyears aside in type from Helldivers 2, or if Helldivers 2’s playercount falls by means of the ground. That is my takeaway, a minimum of, from a latest chat with Johan Pilestedt, chief artistic officer, by which Pilestedt touched briefly on the studio’s subsequent unannounced sport, whereas assuring me that there are nonetheless no plans for a Helldiver threequel.
Based on Pilestedt, 95% of the studio is concentrated on Helldivers 2, with a “small staff” now prototyping Arrowhead’s subsequent sport. They presently have round 150 individuals on the books. “Studio-wise, we wish to develop on our personal phrases and know when to cease,” Pilestedt commented over e mail, noting that “loads of groups hit huge and instantly double their dimension”.
As for the prospect of Helldivers 3, Pilestedt is cautious of dividing the viewers whereas Helldivers 2 nonetheless has a following, commenting that “for now, my view is {that a} sequel resets every thing and forces gamers to begin over”, whereas “a continuation turns the sport right into a lifelong pastime, like LEGO or Warhammer”. In what in all probability is not an indication that he is getting David Lynch to direct the subsequent Warbonds video, he framed Helldivers 2 “as a ‘third house,’ a neighborhood the place individuals can spend an enormous quantity of their time, however equally one which gamers can go away from for months or years and nonetheless discover enjoyable and neighborhood after they come again.” For context, Helldivers 2’s Steam stay playercount as of writing is 47,097, which is not chart-topping however appears pretty respectable for a two-year-old sport; this does not embrace console gamers, after all.
“Some studios can deal with gamers like a short-term money seize,” Pilestedt went on. “We see gamers because the precise engine of the sport: they’re those bringing in mates, making memes, and conserving the sport alive. When you may have an energetic neighborhood doing that, you don’t want a sequel.
“The trade is panicking as a result of the outdated live-service methods don’t work anymore,” he stated. “And the most important competitor to a Helldivers 3 could be Helldivers 2. It solely is sensible to make a definite sequel if it’s so completely different that each video games can exist aspect by aspect. For now, making Helldivers 2 higher each day makes far more sense than throwing away its momentum.”
Pilestedt did not spell out what he meant by the trade panicking, however I assume he is referring to all of the live service game cancellations of late. ‘Reside service’ usually – aka, turning video games into platforms from which ‘rents’ could be extracted, be it an non-obligatory beauty buy or a subscription – has turn into one thing of a cussword amongst gamers who’d fairly their video games had been much less on-line, habit-forming and, nicely, landlordy.
The intrigue right here, for me, is simply how completely different Helldivers 3 would have to be to face aside from its predecessor. Helldivers 2 is a really completely different sport from the unique Helldivers, swapping the outdated top-down view for third-person gunnery with a larger emphasis on physics and credible weapon dealing with. The place ought to they go subsequent?
I am undecided Helldivers could be entertaining as a first-person shooter – a lot of the sport’s beguiling daftness relies on seeing your character. I may nicely think about a Helldivers RTS, however that’d in all probability be a spin-off venture. There are different instructions they might take inside the third-person shooter style which may change the texture whereas supporting the sport’s brash and callous dystopian humour. God, I virtually typed the phrases “Helldivers battle royale” there. Shut one!