Helldivers 2 Sales Are Actually Increasing, Again | Push Square

After denials by Arrowhead Game Studios CEO and director Johann Pilestedt that Helldivers 2 has flying bugs—playfully dismissing it as propaganda by “bug sympathizers”—the studio boss has now acknowledged that “most bugs fly” and that the arrival of flying bugs was only ever a matter of time.

Rise of the Ronin, the latest tentpole PS5 console exclusive from legendary Japanese developer Team Ninja, has been subject to a colossal marketing push in Asia, where posters and billboards have been spotted around cities such as Taipei for several weeks now. That’s all culminated in an Edo period art exhibition in Huashan 1914 Creative Park – coincidentally, the former home of a Japanese sake manufacturer– where Sony has installed several 19th-century props inspired by the game.

The Explore page on the PS5 home screen appears to be running a beta that adds new features like backgrounds, friend activities, your controller's battery life, and easy links to console storage. Mystic, a popular PlayStation YouTuber, posted a new video today detailing the additions, which appear to have only rolled out to select PS5 users. You can see what's new in the video above.

Prior to its release, few predicted PS Portal would be successful. Many were baffled by Sony’s decision to release the Remote Play handheld, which streams gameplay directly from a PS5. But as the months wear on, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Sony’s added a permanent fixture to its hardware portfolio, with the device exceeding expectations.

Helldivers 2 is the best-selling video game of 2024 so far in the USA. Full stop. Done. Accounting for both physical and digital purchases, Circana data places it at the top of the sales charts for both February 2024 and the year so far. The unexpected hit is said to have sold more than eight million copies, but that stat will have increased since. The PS5, PC title beat out competition from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to land top spot for the month, though the Square Enix sequel did release on the final day of February.

Helldivers 2 was the best-selling game of February in the US and the best-selling game so far this year.

Helldivers 2 has taken the world by storm ever since its launch in early February, so it’s no surprise that the game is continuing to top sales charts all over the world. Circana (formerly known as the NPD Group) recently released the data for software and hardware sales in the US for the month of February (via analyst Mat Piscatella on Twitter), and Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony’s co-op shooter has topped those charts.

PS5 deals have hit both the US and UK in Amazon's Spring Sale, offering up a fantastic Spider-Man 2 bundle with a price cut to boot in the former region and a record discount on the console itself across the pond. That means players on both sides of the ocean can grab Sony's latest console with some serious value attached. 

One of the big stories this year so far has been Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s relative underperformance in its home territory of Japan. Historically one of the region’s most popular franchises, the Square Enix sequel couldn’t even outsell fellow PS5 console exclusive Final Fantasy 16 in its first week on the market – a surprise considering its strong critical reception.

Resident Evil 4’s remake has been a humongous success for Capcom, with sales now topping seven million units since the title’s launch a year ago. At last count, the outing had sold 6.48 million units as of 31st December, so it’s moved another 500,000 copies since then. It did launch on Mac, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPad late last year, too.

Sony may have revised its PS5 sales estimate for the current financial year, which will end on 31st March. But unsurprisingly it still wants to sell as many systems as possible, which means it’s going to make one last push for that all-important 21 million units target it’s been eyeing. And how does it intend to do that? One last round of price promotions.

According to all rumours and reports, Sony is working on its own reconstruction technology similar to DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling. The feature, named PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution according to Insider Gaming, seems like a long-term play by the platform holder, with the first iteration planned for the PS5 Pro.