Helldivers 2 PS5 Patch Should Alleviate Server Strain, Progression Issue Persists | Push Square

It’s fair to say that not even in their wildest dreams, Sony or developer Arrowhead Game Studios could have anticipated that Helldivers 2 would have enjoyed the level of success that it has. In spite of server issues and persistent connectivity problems that have only just now started easing up, the co-op shooter has attracted a sizeable playerbase.

Helldivers 2 continues to do well here in the UK, with boxed sales growing 20 percent in its third week on the market thanks to the game's positive reception.

The developer of Helldivers 2 has declared the weekend just gone a success, insisting the game’s servers handled all players “without problem”.

Last week’s UK physical charts from Gfk saw Mario vs. Donkey Kong take the top spot while Skull and Bones disappointed (despite debuting in fourth). GamesIndustry head Christopher Dring reported on Twitter that the former dropped to third due to a 62 percent sales decrease while the latter fell to 16th due to a 68 percent drop. However, there’s the curious case of Helldivers 2.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has raised the game’s server cap to a whopping 700,000 concurrent users as it braces itself for another weekend of massive player numbers.

PlayStation 5 and Steam hit Helldivers 2 was built on an engine that was discontinued after work on the game began.

UPDATE: Arrowhead has said it has squished the PS5 login bug, which should mean console players can play Helldivers 2 again following this morning's patch. The studio recommended PS5 players reboot their consoles, which should "hopefully" let them continue playing.

You may not be fully satisfied with how PlayStation is running its business right now, but Sony’s bringing home the big bucks all the same. The firm’s gaming division is printing cash, as it shipped a sturdy 8.2 million PS5 units throughout the three-month period ending 31st December, 2023. That’s an increase of 1.1 million year-over-year, and it puts the PS5’s lifetime sales at 54.8 million units to date.

The success of Helldivers 2's simultaneous launch on both PS5 and PC appears to have caught several interested parties off guard, blowing through initial projections with its ludicrously addictive brand of chaotic, cooperative gameplay. That's despite fairly serious server issues since launch on Friday, with multiple patches (including another released today) already deployed.

Another action-packed week has come to a conclusion, but it doesn't look like many of you will be playing the latest hot release, Skull & Bones. In fact, it's last week's hot new thing Helldivers 2 that's remaining incredibly popular among our team.

More great games are coming to the PS5, and that’s never a bad thing. Microsoft announced during a highly massaged corporate message that it’ll bring four first-party titles to rival systems, although it wouldn’t name any names. Fortunately, the rumours have been so strong that we can surmise they’ll be rhythm brawler Hi-Fi Rush, historical adventure Pentiment, nautical outing Sea of Thieves, and survival game Grounded. These fit Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s description of two smaller titles and two live service experiences.

Helldivers 2 saw a huge weekend during which it broke its own concurrent players record multiple times and even passed GTA 5's Steam peak, but it was also a frustrating weekend for many who struggled to log in and play with the servers at capacity.