No Helldivers 3 in sight: Arrowhead stays fully focused on Helldivers 2
A sequel would reset everything, says chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt. Around 95 percent of the studio is still working on the current game.
Symbolic image · Photo: John Manard / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Fans of the co-op shooter Helldivers 2 should not expect a sequel any time soon. “The biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2,” Johan Pilestedt, chief creative officer of Swedish studio Arrowhead Game Studios, told Rock Paper Shotgun, as reported by VGC and ComicBook.com. A sequel resets everything and forces players to start over, he said; a distinct sequel only makes sense if it is so different that both games can exist side by side.
According to VGC, about 95 percent of the studio is working on updates for Helldivers 2. A small team is prototyping the next game, which will not necessarily be Helldivers 3. Pilestedt sees his game as a lifelong hobby, like Lego or Warhammer. Players are “the actual engine of the game”, he said, and the industry is panicking because the old live-service tricks no longer work.
Helldivers 2 launched on PS5 and PC in 2024 and arrived on Xbox Series X|S in summer 2025. With 12 million copies sold in its first twelve weeks, it became PlayStation’s fastest-selling game, according to VGC. Player numbers are now well below launch levels but are still considered healthy.