Summary
- Helldivers 2 Steam reviews have dropped from "Very Positive" to mixed over the third weekend of February, some 10 days following the shooter's release.
- The game now has a 68% positive rating, 10 percentage points down compared to a few days ago.
- The recent influx of negative user scores appears to stem from the fact that Helldivers 2 servers remain at full capacity, preventing many from playing the game.
Helldivers 2 Steam reviews have dropped to the "Mixed" territory. This notable decline in the game's user ratings on Valve's storefront appears to primarily stem from its ongoing server issues that are still preventing many from getting into a Helldivers 2 match.
Arrowhead Game Studios' live service shooter was released for the PS5 and PC on February 8. It immediately established itself as a massive hit, having even managed to seize the title of Steam's top-selling game from Palworld. Three days following its release, Arrowhead revealed that Helldivers 2 sold some 1 million copies. But that massive success also created sizable problems for the game's server infrastructure, which was initially designed to allow for around 50,000 concurrent players at launch instead of hundreds of thousands.
Helldivers 2 Steam Reviews Drop as Servers Remain at Max Capacity
Ahead of its two-week release anniversary, Helldivers 2 Steam reviews have dropped from "Very Positive" to "Mixed." Specifically, the game now has a 68% positive user rating, based on nearly 129,000 player opinions. That's ten points down compared to its Friday score. The recent influx of negative reviews appears to be primarily motivated by the fact that Helldivers 2 servers have once again hit their maximum capacity over this past weekend, leaving many players unable to get into a match. The game has yet to recover from that traffic surge as of Tuesday, February 20.
Arrowhead's latest attempt at addressing the ongoing server issues was just rolled out in the form of a major Helldivers 2 update, which promises to deliver "better backend performance," among other changes. Although it's still too early to tell whether the patch has managed to slow down the recent wave of negative Steam reviews, it is plausible that it won't stop new unfavorable ratings completely.
That's because the problem with the game's servers being at capacity is at least partially caused by Helldivers 2 players refusing to log out to keep their spots in the never-ending queues, artificially inflating the shooter's network traffic and thus further exacerbating the core issue. This exploit is only possible because the game has yet to implement an away-from-keyboard (AFK) timer, a fairly standard feature in always-online titles which would force logouts and help players who are actively waiting for a match to get into one faster.
How long the developers take to tackle this trend and resolve other issues stemming from the game's immense popularity remains to be seen. In the meantime, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has been personally responding to fan grievances on social media, assuring them that the ongoing server problems are "being worked on 24/7." In one case, the executive went as far as to advise a prospective customer not to buy Helldivers 2 "until the servers can support the capacity."
Helldivers 2
- Released
- February 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
URGENT BROADCAST – SUPER EARTH ARMED FORCES
Freedom. Peace. Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. Of our very existence. But the war rages on. And everything is once again under threat.
Join the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen and make this a safe and free place to live.
BECOME A LEGEND
You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
LOADOUTS
Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armor and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
REQUISITION
Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
THREATS
Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behavior – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
THE GALACTIC WAR
Capturing enemy planets, defending against invasions, and completing missions will contribute to our overall effort. This war will be won or lost depending on the actions of everyone involved.
We stand together, or we fall apart.
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
