Helldivers 2 player numbers are looking pretty healthy following the release of its latest update, Heart of Democracy, reaching peaks the game hasn’t seen since its initial post-release rush. Despite a rocky first year of release, the higher player numbers show Arrowhead’s efforts to turn the game around are working.

Helldivers 2’s creative director Johan Pilestedt posted a screenshot to X showing almost 198,000 concurrent players online, calling it potentially “the largest simultaneous return of players for Helldivers,” adding that the “team did a MEGA job on the update!” He later added that there are “around 2.5 million Helldivers playing the game every week,” and anticipated seeing more players join following the most recent update.

Since then, Arrowhead Game Studios has worked hard to improve the game and regain player trust, with CEO Shams Jorjani acknowledging how the swing from “it’s so over” to “we’re so back” had become a meme among the game’s fanbase. In less than a year, Helldivers 2 managed to recover from review bombing to return to a “very positive” review rating on Steam, and now that is starting to be reflected in the game’s player numbers.

The latest update, Heart of Democracy, brings the fight closer to home, as Illuminate ships lay siege to Super Earth. Players have been tasked with killing 2.5 billion aliens to defend their homeworld, and that’s just the start of what Arrowhead has planned in the battle for Super Earth.

Helldivers 2 is currently on sale for just $27.49, down from $40, as part of Fanatical’s May Madness sale. Grab the deal for yourself here:

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