Helldivers 2 is having a big day. The game launched today, August 26, on Xbox Series X|S, and it also got a big new update, including a Halo crossover. All of the excitement has led to a surge in players and sales for Helldivers 2–here are some of the key things to know about Helldivers 2’s latest success.
No. 1 on Steam
On Steam, Helldivers 2 is the top-selling game overall in the US based on revenue. Helldivers 2 is also No. 2 in the UK. Filtered by global stats, Helldivers 2 is No. 2, only behind Counter-Strike 2.
In terms of player numbers on Steam, Helldivers 2 reached more than 114,000 peak concurrent players today, August 26, meaning the game is inside Steam’s top 10 overall most-played games. This is the highest figure since June.
Across all platforms, Helldivers 2 has reached more than 200,000 players today, according to the game’s own data. Specific player-number data for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, however, is unknown.
Mysterious new patch
Helldivers 2 got a new update today, but the patch notes have not been posted. As such, people are theorizing that the update is hiding things that the developer wants players to discover organically. The lack of patch notes has inspired some memes. The studio also announced more upcoming Helldivers 2 content, including Into the Unjust, which launches on September 2.
Launch party and an Xbox button
Developer Arrowhead Studios held a launch party for Helldivers 2 on Xbox and the studio also had a dedicated Xbox button that the studio’s CCO Johan Pilestedt ceremoniously pressed to launch the game.
Helldivers 2 is one of PlayStation’s first releases on Xbox. The MLB The Show series is now on Xbox, but it’s co-published with Major League Baseball. Also released today was Gears of War: Reloaded for PlayStation 5, meaning PlayStation and Xbox swapped former console exclusives today.
