Arrowhead Is Working On Its Next Game, But It Isn’t Helldivers 3

In a recent interview, Arrowhead Game Studios’ Chief Creative Officer confirmed that work has begun on the Helldivers 2 developers’ next game. But based on some of the CCO’s recent comments, it seems very unlikely that Arrowhead’s next game will be a direct sequel to Helldivers 2.

Initially released for PlayStation 5 and PC in February 2024, Helldivers 2 has maintained a sizable audience since its launch. According to tracker site SteamDB, Helldivers 2 has a 24-hour peak player count of 67,862. While that’s a far cry from Helldivers 2‘s peak Steam player count of 458,709 from February 24, 2024, it’s more than respectable for a 32-month-old game, especially as PS5 and Xbox player counts aren’t factored into this SteamDB total.

Helldivers 3 Isn’t Arrowhead’s Next Game

In a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Arrowhead Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt spoke about the possibility of getting a third installment in the Helldivers franchise. Pilestedt confirmed that while 95% of Arrowhead’s staff are still working on Helldivers 2, a “small team” is prototyping the studio’s next game. But it doesn’t seem like that game will be Helldivers 3.

While Pilestedt doesn’t completely shut down the possibility of a Helldivers 3, he does tell Rock Paper Shotgun that “it only makes sense to make a direct sequel if it’s so different that both games can exist side by side.” The Chief Creative Officer reinforces this point by stating that “the biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2,” and that “for now” the studio believes that “making Helldivers 2 better” makes more sense than “throwing away its momentum.”

Additionally, Pilestedt talks about Helldivers 2 being a “third space” for players, one where communities can form and thrive around a shared interest. Pilestedt believes that maintaining this third space is vital for the overall success of the Helldivers franchise, saying that “a continuation turns the game into a lifelong hobby,” while a direct sequel “resets everything and forces players to start over.” Pilestedt makes it clear that Helldivers 2‘s player-base is the studio’s top priority, describing fans as the “actual engine of the game” that keeps it alive by bringing in friends and making memes. And according to Pilestedt, “when you have an active community doing that, you don’t need a sequel.”

This isn’t a definitive confirmation that Arrowhead’s next game won’t be Helldivers 3, but based on the CCO’s sentiments, it seems very unlikely that Arrowhead is currently prototyping a direct sequel to its ongoing live-service sci-fi shooter. And based on these comments, if and when a Helldivers sequel does arrive, it could end up looking quite different from Helldivers 2. It’s unclear exactly what Arrowhead would do to differentiate Helldivers 3 from its predecessor, but one possibility is that it could adopt a different gameplay style, such as trading in Helldivers 2‘s third-person, open-zone, emergent action for a more linear experience, though that’s purely speculation at this point.

Released

February 8, 2024

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing