Helldivers 2, at one point, was gonna be a free-to-play game that would’ve been “completely” different from what we got in 2024. This pivot is part of why Helldivers 2 has some nasty performance problems. When Helldivers 2 launched on PS5 and PC last year, it became a huge hit for PlayStation and developers Arrowhead. The sci-fi co-op shooter has stayed popular with updates adding new weapons, enemies, locations, and more. Recently, players have been griping about performance issues and technical problems.
Arrowhead’s CEO, Shams Jorjani, isn’t dodging these criticisms and is tackling them head-on in the official Helldivers 2 Discord server. He revealed that at one point, Helldivers 2 was a smaller game planned to be free-to-play. While chatting with fans on Discord on September 25, Jorjani explained that the shooter had a lot of built-up “tech debt” from various pivots during development. According to the CEO, the game started as a AA game, then expanded in scope, pivoted to a PS5 launch title, moved to F2P, then back to premium – so the goal posts were shifted a few times – so the foundations were made for a bungalow on the beach.
It’s the first time Arrowhead has confirmed publicly that Helldivers 2 was planned to be free-to-play. It’s intriguing to think about how different the game could’ve been. Jorjani mentioned that the free-to-play version would’ve had a “completely different content pipeline” and would’ve likely been a very different game than what we ended up with. “I wasn’t with Arrowhead back then so I don’t know – but the model was always to give away nice stuff for free and monetize other things,” said Jorjani. “It would’ve been a completely different angle. It would’ve required a different content pipeline.”
Making all these changes and pivots during development led to a lot of tech debt, which the CEO says is a big reason for the game’s “so-so” performance. They plan to improve things in the future, with the CEO telling fans in the Discord that improving the game is like cleaning out a garage. “Tech debt is like a garage filled with stuff you just chucked in,” said the CEO. “We really need to put up shelves in the back to get organized.” Earlier this month, he mentioned that Helldivers 2 wasn’t in a great place and that the team needed to get their “shit in order” and fix it.
