Helldivers Boss Reveals What It’d Take to Make Helldivers 3
Since making its debut back in 2024, Helldivers 2 has continued to be incredibly popular for developer Arrowhead Game Studios. Not only does the game still boast strong player counts nearly three years after its arrival, but a live-action movie based on Helldivers is also currently in the works. And while all of this success would seemingly make it quite obvious for Helldivers 3 to happen, one of the leads behind the series doesn’t sound as convinced to make a sequel just yet.
Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, Arrowhead’s chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt said that the studio has no intention of making Helldivers 3 unless it’s drastically different from Helldivers 2. Currently, Pilestedt seems to be very happy with the community that continues to surround Helldivers 2, and believes that making a new game would only disrupt the momentum that it still has. Rather than releasing a sequel that would force players to start over from scratch, he explained that those within Arrowhead want to keep building onto Helldivers 2 for the long haul.
“Some studios can treat players like a short-term cash grab,” Pilestedt said. “We see players as the actual engine of the game: they’re the ones bringing in friends, making memes, and keeping the game alive. When you have an active community doing that, you don’t need a sequel.”
“The biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2,” he continued. “It only makes sense to make a distinct sequel if it’s so different that both games can exist side by side. For now, making Helldivers 2 better every day makes way more sense than throwing away its momentum.”
While Pilestedt currently makes it sound like Helldivers 3 isn’t something that Arrowhead wants to make, these plans could always change in the future. Assuming that player counts for Helldivers 2 drop in the years ahead, Arrowhead might reach the point where providing a clean break in the form of a new sequel would make the most sense as a way to get players both new and old into the series. Still, it doesn’t sound like we’re anywhere close to this actually happening just yet, which means that Helldivers 2 will continue to be around for quite a bit longer.
Do you think that Arrowhead should end up making Helldivers 3 in the future? And how do you feel about Pilestedt’s comments which suggest that Helldivers 2 isn’t going away any time soon? Be sure to let me know in the comments below.