Helldivers 2 Creative Director Discusses Game Monetization

The creative director and CEO behind Helldivers 2, Johan Pilestedt, recently shared his thoughts on the monetization of games. Pilestedt stated that games should “earn the right to monetize” and emphasized that players should not be forced to make purchases within the game.

In response to a tweet pointing out that super credits can be obtained through gameplay, Pilestedt addressed concerns about the game potentially being pay-to-win. He assured players that while items in the game may have varying functions, the game does not offer any pay-to-win advantages. He also humorously mentioned that even the revolver, which is available for purchase, is not as powerful as one might expect.

On Twitter, Pilestedt reemphasized his viewpoint, stating, “‘You have to earn the right to monetize’ – I truly believe that. If people want to support this title they have an option, but we are never forcing anyone to do so.”

Arrowhead Game Studios recently released a “rapid patch” on Steam to address matchmaking issues, with a similar patch deployed to PS5 players. While the team is working on a full matchmaking solution, players may continue to experience issues until the permanent solution is implemented across both platforms.

Following its release, Helldivers 2 achieved a significant milestone by becoming Playstation’s biggest Steam launch, reaching over 150,000 concurrent users on the PC platform. This surpassed the record previously held by Sony Santa Monica’s God of War reboot, demonstrating the game’s widespread popularity among players.