Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios and creative director of Hell divers 2has made some interesting comments about their approach to monetization.
In a recent Twitter topic marked by PCGamesNPilestedt responded to a post citing some complaints that the title could be considered “pay-to-win.”
If you are currently not informed, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter released on February 8, 2024 for the PlayStation 5 and PC. It’s set in a sci-fi future where hyper-patriotic space marines battle to defeat alien forces in space. You drop onto large planets alone or with a team of friends to complete challenging objectives while fending off hordes of enemies.
Successfully completing some additional objectives will award you Super Credits that you can spend on arsenal upgrades, weapons, armor and more. However, these Super Credits can also be purchased directly with real money, which has naturally led some players to argue that wealthy gamers in particular might spend money to give themselves an advantage.
“I’m biased, but we really pushed to not make (Helldivers 2 pay-to-win) even though the items are functionally different,” said Pilestedt in his answer. “The only item that is (pay-to-win) is the revolver, which can win any cool gun contest.”
Later in the same thread, he outlines his personal philosophy on monetization. “You have to earn the right to generate revenue, I truly believe that,” he explained. “If people want to support this title, they have an option, but we are not forcing anyone to do so.”
This seems like a pretty reasonable approach to monetization, especially when you compare the cost of items Hell divers 2 for those who are in a game like Foam stars – another recent third-person shooter available on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
Certain cosmetic packaging Foam stars can cost up to $44.99 / £36.99, which is actually a little more than the $39.99 / £49.99 retail price of the entire Hell divers 2 game. Still, it’s still early for that Hell divers 2 and only time will tell how the presence of any form of monetization will impact its ability to keep players engaged in the long term.
For some other games like Helldivers 2, see our guides for the best multiplayer pc games or the best PS5 games.