Helldivers 2 has been one of 2024’s biggest multiplayer hits — but even major success can come at a cost. Game Director Mikael Eriksson recently acknowledged that Helldivers 2 is “starting to break at the seams,” citing development trade-offs and mounting technical issues that have begun to take a toll on the live-service shooter.
Speaking during a community Q&A session on YouTube, Eriksson was candid about the challenges Arrowhead Game Studios is currently facing. While he praised the team’s creativity and rapid content rollout, he also admitted that the studio’s focus on new updates came at the expense of performance, stability, and long-term scalability.
🧩 “We’re Paying the Price” for Our Development Choices
During the discussion, Eriksson reflected on how the studio’s development priorities have led to an accumulation of technical debt — issues that are now surfacing as the game grows.
“There have been signs all along,” Eriksson said. “The calls are coming from inside the house. Now we’re paying the price for it. That’s why we’re so focused on rethinking how we’re developing the game in this live-service environment.”
Eriksson admitted that Arrowhead has, in some ways, been “getting away with things” that the team knew could eventually cause problems. The studio’s commitment to pushing out new content, weapons, and limited-time events meant some core systems were left under-optimized.
“We’ve been starting to break at the seams — not just in one area, but in many different parts of the game at once,” he explained.
🛠️ A Balancing Act Between Innovation and Stability
When Helldivers 2 launched in February 2024, it quickly exploded in popularity, attracting millions of players across PC and PlayStation 5. However, as the player base grew, so did the strain on Arrowhead’s infrastructure. Server outages, frame rate dips, and progression bugs have become recurring frustrations among fans.
Eriksson took responsibility for some of these issues, stating:
“This is largely on me. We focused too much on making new things and not enough on fixing the issues we already had. That’s something we’re actively rethinking.”
Despite the setbacks, the studio’s transparency has been well-received by the Helldivers 2 community. Arrowhead’s development roadmap now includes bi-weekly updates, designed to tackle both long-standing bugs and new content drops in parallel.
🚀 Arrowhead’s Path Forward
While Eriksson described the current state of the game as “strained,” he also emphasized the team’s commitment to turning things around. Arrowhead is prioritizing engine optimization, load balancing, and the introduction of more robust live-service tools to ensure future patches are delivered more smoothly.
The developer also hinted that internal testing processes are being restructured to catch performance issues earlier, rather than post-launch.
“We’re rebuilding how we think about live service,” Eriksson said. “It’s about sustainability — not just for the game, but for the people making it.”
Helldivers 2 remains one of the most-played multiplayer titles on Steam and continues to maintain a passionate player base. With Arrowhead’s renewed focus on stability and balance, the studio seems determined to strengthen its foundation for the long haul — ensuring that Helldivers 2 can continue to thrive, not just survive.
