On its third weekend, Helldivers 2 actually worked

Microsoft is currently running a sweepstake competition for an absolutely stunning Final Fantasy 14-inspired console bundle that features an attractive Xbox Series X and custom Xbox Wireless Controller — but there’s a massive catch.

Capcom has shared a new gameplay trailer for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess as part of the recent Xbox Partner Preview. And now, we actually know how the game works.

Earlier today, rumours started swirling that PlayStation was moments away from announcing its acquisition of Arrowhead Game Studios, the Swedish team behind the wildly successful Helldivers 2. While the two parties already have a strong relationship – Sony has published both of the Helldivers titles – founder Johan Pilestedt was quick to pour cold water on the reports.

The boss of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has denied a recent rumour that Sony is buying the studio.

No, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios isn't being purchased by PlayStation.

Helldivers 2 has turned out to be something of an anomaly, not only because it’s become a far bigger success than Sony or developer Arrowhead Game Studios had anticipated, but also because it’s selling at a rate that is unprecedented for the overwhelming majority of major new releases.

Reach has fallen in the Halo TV universe. If you know anything about the lore of the Halo games, you know that the next thing that’s supposed to happen is Master Chief escaping from Covenant forces above Reach, his ship getting attacked, and then promptly crashing onto the series’ first Halo ring. In other words, this is basically the moment where the action starts. That is not what happened in the Halo TV series. Instead, Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his friends took a reflective excursion to a backwater planet that felt a lot more like a detour than character development.

As players fight tooth and nail to reclaim planets overrun by Terminids and Automatons, developer Arrowhead reveals that the intergalactic war is managed by only a single person. While the core loop involves running around alien planets and gunning down various enemies, there's a much larger scale meta-game at play that sees the community fighting to take control of several endangered planets. Given that opposing factions seemingly respond to player-led pushes, many assumed it was simply an automatic difficulty setting to make the experience more challenging.

Some games take weeks to find an audience. Some take months. And then there's Helldivers 2, which has become an instant hit, surpassing more than 1 million copies sold in its first three days of launch. So, what's next?

has had a spectacular launch in some regards and a troubled one in others, and one persistent bug can be the source of some confusion. Suiting up for maximal defense against Terminids and Automatons might seem like a good strategy in, but it doesn't tend to take long to get the sense that something isn't quite right. Anyone finding themselves disoriented when it comes to armor in the game has good reason, as a key element hasn't yet been fixed.

Arrowhead has teased “exciting” plans for Helldivers 2 after seemingly resolving the game’s server issues.

has a lot of enemies that can be frustrating to fight, but one of the most annoying to encounter is actually interesting in a way that none of the others can claim. Enemies in can be divided into two factions – Terminids, which appear as insectoid alien creatures, and Automatons, which are robotic and heavily armored. Both draw on classic science-fiction tropes, with Terminids in particular invoking the Arachnids that show up in, an obvious inspiration for the satirical jingoism of