By Lee DKatarina Cimbaljevic"»>
Summary
- Helldivers 2 players are calling for the game to be released on Xbox in a rare truce for the console wars.
- A petition has garnered thousands of signatures, and Xbox head Phil Spencer has endorsed an Xbox release.
- A multi-platform future beckons as demands for Helldivers 2 on Xbox mount, challenging traditional exclusivity norms.
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Helldivers 2 players are teaming up to kill bugs, spread democracy, and, just maybe, to end the console wars once and for all. As a co-op game, in which the threats are much bigger and stronger than a single player could ever hope to be, teamwork is in its very nature. While things like teamkilling do happen in Helldivers 2, its multiplayer meta focuses on communication and collaboration.
But since launch and to date, the game has only ever been available on Windows PCs and PlayStation 5 consoles. In the past, this might've been a point of contention for a PS5 player, dangling Helldivers 2 in front of an Xbox user with a sneer. However, there's no room for envy on Super Earth.
Helldivers 2 Players Are Lobbying For An Xbox Release
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Helldivers 2 players on PS5 and PC are gunning for an Xbox release, simply because they want more players to join the fight. Check the comments on any social media post from the game's official channels, and there'll be thousands of Starship Troopers GIFs amid demands to see the game on Xbox. The movement has inspired a Change.org petition on the matter, titled simply, "Bring Helldivers 2 to Xbox — Fans Await Thrilling Co-op Action." At the time of writing, the petition has garnered over 68,000 signatures, and is rapidly climbing toward its stretch goal of 75,000.
That'd be almost a quarter of Helldivers 2's peak concurrent player count on Steam, a massive influx of new players. But not all of these signatures are coming from Xbox players, who compare the game to alien-bashing Xbox exclusives like Halo. There are also admitted PS5 players in the comments, calling for friends on Xbox to join the fray. It's a beautiful thing: Xbox and PS5 players, recently at each other's throats over the end of Xbox exclusivity, are now unified in calling for a multi-platform release, just as the people of Super Earth are united in beating the bugs.
And call it selflessness or shortsightedness, but it's worth noting that Helldivers 2 servers are already full. Players are reporting long wait times and other barriers to access the game due to its stunningly high player count, which has Helldivers 2 packed to the gills. While developer Arrowhead is working on expanding the servers, this issue is currently holding Helldivers 2 back — and bringing Xbox players into the fold would even make things worse. PS5 and PC players are willing to risk worsening these server issues in order to ensure more people can access the game.
Xbox Head Phil Spencer Supports Helldivers 2
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming and head of the Xbox brand, voiced his support for Helldivers 2 on Xbox in a recent interview with Game File. "When I look at a game like Helldivers 2 — and it's a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation — I’m not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox," Spencer says. "But I get it. There’s a legacy in console gaming that we’re going to benefit by shipping games and not putting them on other places. We do the same thing."
Although Spencer acknowledges his own company's participation in the type of exclusivity that contributes to console wars, he seems willing to build a better future. Given some of Microsoft's other recent initiatives, there's clearly a greater push for former exclusives to go multi-platform.
It's The Perfect Time For Helldivers 2 To Come To Xbox
The End Of Xbox Exclusivity Could Create A Multi-Platform Future
Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic
With Microsoft's newfound commitment to releasing its games on other platforms, with titles like Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Sea of Thieves coming to PS5, there's no reason things can't work the other way. It seems like the age of console exclusivity may finally be coming to an end, with a more widespread acknowledgment that no one — neither developers, console manufacturers, nor players — benefits from exclusivity.
Games sell more copies and garner more players the more platforms they're on. And the current model of console releases, in which two near-identical pieces of hardware arrive on the market simultaneously and force shoppers to choose which set of exclusive games they'd rather have access to, is obviously flawed. A better business model is possible, and the end of Xbox exclusivity and petition to multi-platform Helldivers 2 makes the perfect first pair of steps.
But for now, Helldivers 2 remains exclusive to PC and PS5. While there's clearly a demand to release the game on Xbox, Arrowhead hasn't announced any plans to do so. At the very least, an Xbox release would be far in the future, if it exists at all. But even if nothing ever comes of it, the petition for Helldivers 2 to go multi-platform will be remembered as a rare truce in the ever-raging console wars.
Sources: Change.org, Game File
Franchise Helldivers Platform(s) PlayStation 5 , Microsoft Windows Released February 8, 2024 Developer(s) Arrowhead Game Studios AB Publisher(s) PlayStation Studios Genre(s) Action , Sci-Fi , Third-Person Shooter ESRB M
