It’s fair to say that not even in their wildest dreams, Sony or developer Arrowhead Game Studios could have anticipated that Helldivers 2 would have enjoyed the level of success that it has. In spite of server issues and persistent connectivity problems that have only just now started easing up, the co-op shooter has attracted a sizeable playerbase.
In fact, its sales are only growing as it gets further away from launch and word of mouth continues to gather momentum. Taking to Twitter, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella recently revealed that Helldivers 2’s combined physical and digital dollar sales in the US (i.e. revenue generated from unit sales) in its second week were more than twice as high as what the game managed in its first week.
Game sales tend to be frontloaded more often than not, with significant initial sales upon release being followed by a trickle that progressively slows down, so this is quite rare, to say the very least. As Piscatella puts it, “Inverse decays are rare, this large a week two jump even more so, especially outside the Holiday window.”
Helldivers 2 is enjoying similar success in other regions as well. In the UK, for instance, its sales have grown week-on-week for the last two weeks. Recently, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt suggested that the game has sold at least around three million copies worldwide.
Helldivers 2 is available on PS5 and PC. Read our review of the game through here.
US combined phys & dig dollar sales of Helldivers II during its second week in market more than doubled launch week volume. Inverse decays are rare, this large a week 2 jump even moreso, especially outside the holiday window. Great stuff. Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) February 27, 2024
