Finally, a sequel to one of my favorite co-op shooters: Helldivers 2 is coming to PC and PS5 simultaneously

Nobody in my circles seems to remember Helldivers, the excellent top-down shooter that Magicka studio Arrowhead released in 2015. It had giant bugs, four player co-op, hardcore lethality, and a cool supply drop mechanic that required punching in directional codes in the middle of a firefight. It was great, and as Arrowhead developed it with Sony support, it was also technically the first game Sony published on PC.

We finally got our first look at the long-awaited sequel, Helldivers 2, during today's PlayStation showcase, and the top-down shooter I love is looking a bit different.

Judging by the trailer, it looks like Helldivers 2 will bring its camera down to a third-person perspective. That's sure to be a major change to how Arrhowhead's games usually play, but Risk of Rain 2 pulled a similar trick when it moved away from 2D pixel art into a fully 3D game, and that worked out great.

The glimpses of gameplay shown today look like Starship Troopers crossed with the armored bravado of Warhammer 40,000. The new photoreal art style and the huge environments suggest that this is easily the biggest game that Arrowhead has ever made, and probably the most expensive. Perhaps Helldivers 2 will be a full $70 game, similar to Returnal.

But unlike Returnal, we won't have to wait two years to get this PlayStation game on PC. The trailer notes that Helldivers 2 is coming to "PS5 and PC" in 2023. Exciting.

Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.