Video Gamer is reader supported. When you buy through links on our site we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
The Helldivers series went from a fairly niche release that very few people had heard of to a global juggernaut that appeared seemingly overnight after the release of Helldivers 2. Despite a highly dedicated development team and community, the series has encountered a host of issues in recent weeks. for various reasons. Arrowhead Game Studios still has a good reputation in the gaming community, but it feels like the game is walking a tightrope at the moment and the team must carefully navigate the coming months if it wants Helldivers 2 to continue to be a success.
U/Ebicat took to Reddit to discuss the recent Helldivers 2 01.000.400 update, as well as Arrowhead Game Studios’ future plans. They also note that they are a game developer and have released over twenty games of varying quality and success, which provides a unique insight into the mindset of a developer that we don’t often hear when looking from an outside perspective.
They start the post by saying that “the latest patch provided some initial relief, but it quickly disappeared. For example, not a single ship module was touched in the last patch, but Supply Packing was broken… Meanwhile, new features have been released for months, but they have never worked, considering your improved defense against sentry missiles. The list goes on, as you all know.”
According to the developer, this is likely due to the choice of engine, namely the discontinued Autodesk Stingray that was used for the original Helldivers game, as well as Helldivers 2, and three Warhammer titles. The engine was discontinued in 2018.
The developer goes on to say, “The first game was made on this engine and that’s probably why they chose it for the second game, but I’m pretty sure that was a big mistake. When you use something like Unity, Unreal, etc. you are part of a community of people solving problems together. You gain a lot by having an actively developed engine. I bet this is one of the biggest reasons for the mess they are in now.”
Engines like Unreal Engine and Unity have become two of the most popular choices for game developers and have been used to create thousands of games, from small single-developer projects to major AAA releases, including Fortnite, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Tekken 8, Sea of Thieves, Pokémon Go, Genshin Impact and much more. These bikes have an incredibly dedicated community behind them, and more importantly, they are actively being worked on by their creators. It seems like an odd choice to stick with an underpowered, discontinued engine, and it could explain a lot regarding the technical issues that continue to plague Helldivers 2.
The developer concludes the message by saying: “I hope they can solve their problems, because the community’s patience is running out. This latest patch should have only come with fixes and no regressions, but that’s just not the case, including things like performance and crashes. I also hope that they do a major post-mortem on their processes and choices in this area.”
The developer won’t confirm which titles they’ve worked on, to allow for anonymity, but they do note that some of the games they’ve worked on have shipped “10-25+ million copies.” Much of this post reflects many of the community’s opinions and thoughts on the state of the game. But the team has been using the engine for a decade now, so despite the limitations, they are perhaps the most experienced team out there when it comes to using Stingray.
With Johan Pilestedt shifting his focus to the game’s development, things seem to be heading in the right direction, if the recent update and Viper Commandos Warbond are to be believed. Since so much has changed in the game over the past week, we highly recommend checking out our Helldivers 2 best weapons and best armor guide so you can keep your gear up to date and ensure there is maximum Liber tea is served at the Automatons and Terminids.