Key insights
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Helldivers 2 COO Johan Pilestedt has stated that he would like to see crossovers like Alien and Warhammer 40K in the future, but that Arrowhead won't “water down” the game to get them.
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Pilestedt explains that if Helldivers 2 were to get crossovers in the future, he wouldn't want to create a “non-Helldivers” experience with them.
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Fans have suggested that warbonds inspired by other IPs could be a good solution, which Pilestedt himself really likes.
Helldivers 2 is practically a live service title in name only. While Warbonds has microtransactions and quasi-battle passes, there are no seasons, you can earn literally everything in the game, and it has managed to stay away from ridiculous crossovers and collaborations. Almost every live service game these days is going the Fortnite route and adding characters from outside the IP, whether it makes sense or not.
Of course, there's still time for Arrowhead to add Peter Griffin and Thanos to Helldivers 2 if they really wanted to, but it doesn't seem like there's much desire at the top for something like that. After an interview with VideoGamer about possible crossovers in Helldivers 2, Arrowhead COO Johan Pilestedt clarified via Twitter that Arrowhead would never bombard the game with crossovers as it could “water down” the game.
Pilestedt posits that many crossovers could potentially make “Helldivers 2” a “non-Helldivers” experience, and that Arrowhead would need to adopt a different perspective on crossovers in general to properly immerse itself. That will be music to the ears of Helldivers 2 fans who want their game to retain the very specific feel that has become so well established at this point, but Pilestedt has an idea for how crossovers might happen in the future.
Helldivers 2 could get Warbond crossovers with other IPs
One way Helldivers 2 could have as many crossovers as Arrowhead wanted without compromising the game's integrity would be through warbonds, an idea put forward by some fans in replies to Pilestedt's comment. The COO also seems pretty comfortable with this idea, as Pilestedt mentions that the idea of Warbonds inspired by external franchises like Aliens and Warhammer 40K is “a good point of view.”
He even suggests ideas for specific Warbond items himself, such as an Aliens M56A2 Smart Gun as a one-time Superstore purchase or a full Starship Troopers Warbond, complete with weapons, voices, and armor. While he emphasizes that “nothing is decided yet” when it comes to crossovers, it's clear that Pilestedt himself would like to do them and that Arrowhead is thinking about their potential impact on the game as a whole. So that should ease the worries of anyone worried about seeing Snoop Dog fight Terminids.
Helldivers 2
Do you believe in freedom? Can you withstand oppression – and defend the defenseless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.
Team up with up to three friends and wreak havoc against an alien scourge that threatens 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 shoes of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, freedom and managed democracy by wielding the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.
Helldivers don't venture onto the planet without proper support, but it's up to you to decide how and when to turn them on. Not only do you have a variety of super-powerful primary weapons and customizable equipment, but you also have the ability to use stratagems during the game.
Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead's best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be critical: Teams will work synergistically to equip, strategize their approach to each mission, and achieve goals together.1
Join Super Earth's premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERSE.
