For the first few months, Helldivers 2 could do no wrong. Spectacular, funny, and unlike any of its other multiplayer rivals, Arrowhead's shooter only started to wobble around May 2024, when it was first announced that players would have to link their s to the Playstation Network. While that stipulation was eventually dropped, the initial damage to Helldivers 2's reputation was already done. Successive balancing updates, which overengineered and flattened out some of the game's most-loved weapons, caused further dismay – from 458,000 concurrent players at launch, just five months later, Helldivers 2 was down to an all-time low of 47,000. But now, thanks to the new Heart of Democracy update, things suddenly look extremely bright.
Though it's maintained a consistent player base, throughout 2025, multiplayer game has always been a hit, but it's never been able to reclaim the dizzying highs of the immediate post-launch period.
But Helldivers 2's new Heart of Democracy update has catalyzed a serious resurgence. Released on Tuesday May 20, in the last 24 hours, Helldivers 2 has reached a concurrent player peak of 163,000, the largest of 2025, and also the largest since April 2024, at the height of the game's popularity. Reviews are also up. While the aggregated, lifetime rating for Helldivers 2 remains 'mostly positive,' based exclusively on recent reviews, that is, those posted in the last 30 days, its rating is the much rosier 'very positive.'
In fact, 87% of recent reviews are favorable. Drilling into the data even further, of all the reviews posted on May 20, Heart of Democracy launch day, 91% are positive, strongly suggesting that the new update has been warmly received. So, if you haven't played it before, or you've been considering a return, now may well be the time to give Helldivers 2 a shot.
Otherwise, try some of the best war games on PC.
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