Summary
2024 has already produced a wealth of surprisingly great games, most of which have seemingly come out of nowhere. While the likes ofPrince of Persia: The Lost CrownandTekken 8both belong to huge franchises, their extremely high level of quality was still pleasantly surprising for many, but the real shocks have been games likeHelldivers 2andPalworld, two titles that had some attention before launch, but quickly ballooned to unforeseen heights upon their release.
Affectionately referred to as “Pokemonwith guns” since its debut trailers,Palworldbecame 2024’s first major hit, breaking records across both Steam and Xbox. Then, just a few weeks later,Helldivers 2launched, managing to climb the same charts just as fast. As it stands right now,PalworldandHelldivers 2are still some of the biggest games of 2024, but despite all their success, they find themselves in the same unsteady position.
Helldivers 2 and Palworld Are in the Same Shaky Content-Drop Boat
Helldivers 2 and Palworld Were Overnight Successes
Though the games themselves have very little in common in terms of mechanics, tone, or narrative,Helldivers 2andPalworldboth share one major aspect, and that’s their great, and almost-instant success. BeforePalworldlaunched, it had only really gained the attention of avidPokemonfans looking for a refreshing new take on the usually family-friendly monster-catching formula. And whileHelldivers 2was a sequel to a fairly popular PS Vita and PS4 game, it certainly wasn’t the most anticipated game of 2024.
But somehow, bothPalworldandHelldivers 2have managed to achieve a level of success that their creators likely thought impossible. At the end of January,Palworldreported it had sold 12 million copies, and achieved almost 20 million players across its two platforms, and whileHelldivers 2hasn’t quite reached those same monumental heights, it’s still managed to sell over 3 million copies and is still consistently one of the most played games on Steam according to sites like Steam Charts and SteamDB.
Helldivers 2 and Palworld Now Need to Keep Up With Increasing Demand
ButHelldivers 2andPalworlddon’t just get to cash their chips and walk away, however. BothPalworldandHelldivers 2have chosen to adopt a model whereby content is added to the game, usually for free, on a regular basis. WhileHelldivers 2’s live-service model has been linked with unprecedentedsuccesses likeFortnite,Call of Duty: Warzone, andApex Legends, it’s also been the main cause of countless games' downfall, and now the pressure is on forHelldivers 2,and to a degreePalworld, to remain in the former camp.
Generally speaking,PalworldandHelldivers 2have both come out of the gate swinging when it comes to the former’s early access approach and the latter’s live-service model. While a fellowlive-service title likeSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas fumbled its live-service approach, not dropping any new content for around two months and thus losing its playerbase very quickly,PalworldandHelldivers 2have kept up with the demand for new content, delivering updates that patch bugs, improve performance, and add new features, such as the most recentHelldivers 2update that’s added mechs to the game.
It seems as though bothPalworldandHelldivers 2have what it takes to keep players hooked for the long term, but as the gaming industry has seen countless times over the last few years, that can change on a dime. Just one delayed content update can cause a sudden decline in players, and with early access on Steam or thelive-service model, that can be detrimental to the game’s longevity. So, whilePalworldandHelldivers 2have already been huge successes, they’ve still got a long, shaky road ahead of them.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
