The head of Arrowhead Studios gave indications on the very long-term future of'Helldiverse 2. His wish is to make the game last “ forever “.
Launched last February and huge success this year 2024 (12 million sales), Helldiverse 2 has already passed through all states. When it was released, it experienced major server problems, linked to poor traffic estimation. Recently, Sony, the publisher, messed up with its commercial policy, before backpedaling under pressure from the community. Today, the developers ofHelldiverse 2 can face the future with peace of mind. But how long can such a game last?
Playable only online, Helldiverse 2 relies on servers that will one day eventually shut down. This technical constraint does not prevent Johan Pilestedt, CEO of the Arrowhead studio, from thinking that his game can last. forever “. He made this confession on Discord (via Games Radar on May 15). Beyond the issue of servers, which is not entirely Arrowhead's responsibility, there is the way in which developers continually feed Helldiverse 2. What will happen when they are mobilized on another project?
Helldivers 2 developers hope to automate features
If Helldiverse 2 has captivated players so much for several weeks, it is because it is based on a living universe. It revolves around a global conflict, piloted in real time by a game master. The latter is responsible for activating levers to balance the balance of power. For example, he can get up in the middle of the night to give a boost to the automatons – one of the enemy factions. But Joel, his first name, will eventually move on, and his continued interventions will be missed. Helldiverse 2.
We must therefore understand that, without Joel, Helldiverse 2 would not be quite the same. Which raises even more questions about the very long-term future of the game. Johan Pilestedt wanted to be quite reassuring on the subject, by planning ahead. “ We could implement automations for the game master and other features “, he says. Which implies that good old Joel could eventually be replaced by artificial intelligence.
While Arrowhead's intentions are laudable, we can't help but think that automations will never replace humans — no matter how fine-tuned they may be. This is all the more true since the developers ofHelldiverse 2 have fun with the updates by pushing the narrative very far. This is a point that requires sensitivity and adaptation that a robot will have difficulty perceiving. As is, Helldiverse 2 is a theater where exchanges between the studio and the community are permanent and constructive. An AI could create illusions for a given period of time, but probably not forever. Not to mention that Sony could simply order a Helldivers 3 which would take up all the space.