Videos by ComicBook.com
In a video released to coincide with the news, Helldivers II co-director and Arrowhead Games CCO Johan Pilestedt addressed the need to “send more dudes.” It remains to be seen what impact the Xbox release will have on the game, but an additional platform could result in a pretty big influx of newcomers. Pilestedt encouraged veterans of the game to help out these new players, and get them acquainted with how to play, and the best strategies to use. The video can be found in the X/Twitter post embedded below.
Today’s announcement is pretty surprising! Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been saying for more than a year now that he’d like to see Helldivers II on Xbox platforms, but it always seemed unlikely. While Xbox has been making a big push to release its games on PS4 and PS5, PlayStation has largely avoided reciprocating. Even when LEGO Horizon Adventures was released on Nintendo Switch last year, the Sony funded game noticeably skipped Xbox platforms. From that perspective alone, this is a pretty big deal, and it will be interesting to see if it opens up the door for more PlayStation games on Xbox systems.
Starting with Helldivers II on Xbox does make a lot of sense for PlayStation, from a certain perspective. Games like Helldivers II can only thrive as long as they maintain a passionate community, and putting the game on Xbox should help to expand the audience of regular players. That would be good for the longterm health of the game, and serve as a benefit to current players, especially those with friends that own an Xbox as opposed to a PS5.
