Arrowhead Studios has announced that balls-to-the-wall co-op shooter Helldivers 2 has gone gold, signaling it’s ready for launch on PS5. On February 8, you’ll be able to enlist in the galaxy’s elite fighting force with your pals and put your skills (and friendship) to the test.
As confirmed over on Twitter, Helldivers 2 has now been given the green light ahead of its release date. For the uninitiated, ‘going gold’ means a game’s development is finished and is now ready to hit the shelves – a relief for series fans after it was delayed back in September last year.
The upcoming addition to the PS5 exclusives list is one of this year’s biggest releases for Sony, and could serve as another indicator for its future in the live service market. It’ll be launching in the same week as Foamstars, another live service endeavor by Square Enix that is also a PlayStation console exclusive. Helldivers 2, combined with Foamstars, feels like the starting point of Sony’s hotly-debated push into this area of the games market.
Back in December, PlayStation canned or delayed half of its promised GAAS line-up as the industry continues to struggle. Even Naughty Dog – developer of some of the best games series ever – had to call time on its The Last of Us Online project, citing the sheer amount of resources necessary to support it post-launch.
With PC and PS5 crossplay recently confirmed, there is a hope from this writer that there’ll be enough fervor for Helldivers 2’s zany, team-based gameplay to ensure it doesn’t go the way of ill-fated live service shooters like Anthem and CrossfireX. Considering the hype around the game, as well as the goodwill earned by its predecessor, we’re optimistic that this won’t be the case.
If anything, Helldivers 2 could stand to earn a spot in our best multiplayer games list based on what we’ve seen so far – Rory says it’s the game he “can’t stop thinking about.” The shift from a twin-stick to a third-person perspective is a bold new direction for Arrowhead, and one that looks to pay dividends. Now that Helldivers 2 has gone gold, we’re back to playing the waiting game to see how it comes out in the wash when the bug-splatting shooter arrives next month.