Arrowhead Game Studios has been vocal about the future of the Helldivers franchise, indicating that a potential Helldivers 3 is likely still a ways off. The developer’s primary focus remains on expanding and enhancing Helldivers 2 as long as there’s player interest. Johan Pilestedt, the CCO and creative director, subtly hinted that Helldivers 2 might evolve into Helldivers 3, and now we’ve caught a glimpse of what that could entail.
In a recent discussion, Pilestedt touched on the “sequel-level features” he envisions for the game before it could truly transition into a full sequel. He emphasized that community feedback plays a crucial role in shaping the game’s future, noting, “there’s quite a lot of them actually, and I think the community is pretty good at picking up where they want the game to head in terms of a sequel-esque direction.”
“Eight-player missions would be one of those,” he elaborated. “Larger open-world maps where you might encounter other Helldiver teams to tackle bigger challenges together. Operations that affect other teams would be those kinds of features.”
Regarding updates, Pilestedt mentioned that the studio is already in talks about the next four arcs for Helldivers 2, promising to deliver more content on a regular basis.
He also acknowledged the challenges of larger player lobbies, explaining why 16-player missions aren’t feasible at this stage. “It would come with a side of ’16 FPS,'” said Arrowhead’s CEO. “We’re trying to fix performance, not kill it.”
Ultimately, Pilestedt noted that these sequel-level features aim to enhance the Galactic War experience and scale of conflict players are engaged in. Expanding maps and adding more divers (and likely more enemies like bugs and bots) would certainly contribute to this vision. Rather than jumping straight to Helldivers 3, Arrowhead seems to be committed to continuously updating Helldivers 2 with significant enhancements.
While there’s no concrete timeline for these changes, the anticipation for what’s next is certainly palpable in the community.