Helldivers 2, the Starship Troopers-inspired multiplayer co-op shooter from developer Arrowhead has sold over 12 million copies despite its recent delisting from Steam in over 150 countries.
Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt took to Twitter to post about the success of the viral bug and bot shooting hit game. He wrote, “we have sold over 12M units! It’s crazy to think that there are more Helldivers than there are Swedes 🤯”.
An immediate follow-up question asked how many Swedish Helldivers there were, to which Pilestedt replied, “about 150k”. That’s impressive dedication to democracy. Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy Helldivers 2 at the moment, as the game remains delisted on Steam in over 150 countries.
As announced in the Sony earnings call, we have sold over 12M units!
It’s crazy to think that there are more Helldivers than there are Swedes 🤯
What a massive achievement from everyone involved in realizing @Helldivers2. A massive thank you to the community for your support,…
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 14, 2024
A controversial decision to require everyone playing Helldivers 2 on PC to register a PSN account was met with a furious fan backlash. The move would effectively render the game useless for people in many countries who had purchased the game in a region where PSN wasn’t available. Surprisingly, it isn’t possible to get an account in over 150 countries.
Helldivers 2 was review bombed on Steam as a result, and Sony reversed its decision to enforce the rule. However, the game remains delisted from many countries at the time of writing. If it gets relisted, it’s likely the game will continue to sell well.
The Helldivers 2 community rallied around the game after Sony’s u-turn and has brought the review score back up. In the meantime, you can still play the game without a PSN account, but only if it is currently listed on Steam in your country. For people in the U.K. the game is available to purchase for £34.99.
In other news, Red Dead Redemption may finally be coming to PC, if a recent datamine is accurate.
