When was the Helldivers 2 release date? In a radical departure from its predecessor, Helldivers 2 brings the series to a third-person perspective, and taking on hordes of space bugs has never looked so good.
The first Helldivers was originally released way back in 2015 on the PS3, PS4, and PS Vita (yes, the PS Vita – we miss you every day). But the scope has been upped for the PS5 exclusive sequel Helldivers 2, which has gone down a storm with players and has quickly earned a spot on our best co-op games list. But when did it launch, and what’s it all about?
Helldivers 2 release date
The Helldivers 2 release date was Thursday, February 8, 2024 on PS5 and PC. This was confirmed in the September 2023 State of Play livestream.
Originally, Helldivers 2 was planned to be released at some point in late 2023 but was hit with a short delay. After an incorrect date was displayed in an official trailer for the game, many worried it had been delayed again from its February 8 release date, though that was quickly cleared up by Sony.
As mentioned above, Helldivers 2 is only on PS5 and PC. Sorry PS4 and Xbox players, but you won’t be able to drop into the action. Given the first Helldivers never made it to Xbox, we’d be surprised if Helldivers 2 made the move either, though developer Arrowhead Game Studios is not technically a Sony-owned studio.
Surprisingly, Arrowhead has not released a game since the first Helldivers in 2015, so it had been working on this project for quite some time. Prior to Helldivers, however, the studio made Magicka, Gauntlet, and The Showdown Effect.
Helldivers 2 story
The main premise of Helldivers 2 is that Super-Earth is under attack from alien civilizations and with its values threatened, you step in as one of the elite class of soldiers known as the Helldivers.
As a Helldiver you take on the role of a galactic peacekeeper, protecting your home planet and spreading democracy. Telling a twisting narrative certainly isn’t the goal of Helldivers 2, so its story acts more as set-dressing for the incredible action. There’s not even a dedicated campaign mode or main story-driven questline. However, its simple, light-hearted approach works in its favor, and it puts all its energy into delivering excellent co-op gameplay.
Helldivers 2 gameplay
At its core, Helldivers 2 is a third-person, co-op, PvE shooter that lets you build the ultimate destruction-dealing loadout with weapons, armor, and Stratagems – super weapons that can be summoned during a mission. Whether it’s calling in an airstrike or setting up a Gatling turret, Stratagems are both the key to taking down tough bosses and messing around with your friends as you ‘accidentally’ call down a danger-close orbital strike.
In terms of the enemies you face, expect to battle massive alien creatures or troops of robots out for blood. Like all the best co-op horde shooters, expect to face off against large swarms of enemies all at once, favoring the chaos of crowds over intricate one-on-one action.
The tone feels quite different from the first game, but the size and scale really show off the ambitions of the studio nearly ten years after the original game.
You can check out some extended gameplay footage below for a better sense of what a Helldivers 2 session looks like:
When it comes to objectives, the entire community actually works together to achieve them, and the global missions you take on are constantly changing. Higher-difficulty limited-time events will also be regularly added into the game.
While Helldivers 2 is designed as a co-op shooter and is best played with a group of pals, it’s also a surprisingly exciting solo experience – if you can withstand the punishment. Also, Arrowhead Studios has explicitly stated that it has no intention of bringing PvP modes to Helldivers 2 – it will remain solely as a PvE experience.
If you’re reading this as a new player or someone that will be jumping into the game for the first time soon, be sure to bookmark our handy list of things we wish we knew about Helldivers 2 before we started playing.
Want to dive into the game on PC? Check out the Helldivers 2 PC requirements over on PCGameBenchmark to see if you can run the minimum requirements.
That covers all the latest news ahead of the Helldivers 2 release date. This is certainly one of the best PS5 co-op games we’ve seen in a long time, and is a worthy addition to our list of the best PS5 games overall.