Helldivers 2's Momentum is Make or Break for Its Post-Launch Content

Highlights

Warbonds are a permanent, player-focused alternative to traditional battle pass systems in Helldivers 2, enhancing the gameplay experience.
Part of Helldivers 2’s success relies on Arrowhead’s transparent microtransaction approach, avoiding predatory practices seen in other games.
Maintaining the fairness and player-first approach of Warbonds is crucial for Helldivers 2’s longevity and continued success.

After such a successful launch, Helldivers 2 is a major contender to be hailed as one of the best games of the year, but its future success hinges on how developer Arrowhead handles its future in-game content. Helldivers 2 kicked off the year with a surprise bang, but if Arrowhead wants the game to have some serious longevity, then the developer’s approach to post-launch content needs to remain consistent.

The arrival of Helldivers 2 brought a surprising and fun world into the spotlight, and the way Arrowhead handles the game’s version of a battle pass, known as Warbonds, is a great example of how the studio has managed to create in-game mechanics that ultimately put the player first. Although Warbonds take inspiration from the battle pass trend, it sets itself apart in some great ways without being predatory.

Helldivers 2’s Nonstop Immersion is Where It Shines Brightest

Helldivers 2 benefits from having few menu screens interrupting the experience and the result is an immersive, cooperative jaunt through the galaxy.

Warbonds Are The Key To Helldivers 2’s Future

With Warbonds, players can get a variety of cool items in Helldivers 2 that can enhance the experience of playing. However, one of the main aspects that sets Warbonds apart from a lot of battle passes is that Warbonds are permanent fixtures in the game. Unlike the limited skins and items in other games, Arrowhead has avoided making items available for only a short amount of time. This is a great way to maximize the amount of items players can acquire.

Weapons
Armor Sets
Grenades
Emotes
Victory Poses
Player Cards
Super Credits

Although the items earned from Warbonds are the usual types of offers seen in other games with battle pass systems, Helldivers 2 keeping all rewards a permanent part of the game is a great way to put players first. Warbonds not being limited time offers doesn’t create the scarcity that other battle passes do, which helps take the pressure off players. Although Warbonds are technically Helldivers 2‘s version of microtransactions, their implementation is quite fair compared to a lot of other in-game purchases.

Helldivers 2 Should Be The Blueprint For Battle Pass Systems

If Arrowhead continues handling Warbonds the way it has, then the success of Helldivers 2 has a strong chance of continuing to thrive. Although real-life purchases can be made in-game, players are able to avoid using their actual money thanks to the in-game currency of Helldivers 2, Super Credits. These Super Credits can be earned while playing the game, and the official Helldivers 2 Discord even claims that players can expect to make 10-40 Super Credits per hour, depending on how efficiently they play.

Players can use their real-life money if they wish, but Helldivers 2‘s Warbonds makes it a lot more manageable to use these Super Credits in order to buy items. This keeps Helldivers 2 from feeling like a pay-to-win game, but Arrowhead needs to continue this approach if the studio wants to keep players happy with the game’s microtransactions. Arrowhead has been teasing some exciting changes to Helldivers 2, but the Warbonds system needs to stay the same going forward.

Helldivers 2 Needs To Remain The Outlier

The current state of microtransactions in games has been a major point of discussion among gamers. After the recent controversy surrounding Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s microtransactions, it’s clear that this is still an ongoing problem. Where Dragon’s Dogma 2 failed in being transparent with its in-game purchases, Arrowhead has been incredibly upfront with players, and this has made all the difference. The amount of transparency combined with a system that doesn’t actually enable predatory purchases makes Helldivers 2 stand out among many other games.

Although the game has had recent issues with crashing, the developers of Helldivers 2 have made it clear that they’re focused on player satisfaction. For Arrowhead to be such a small studio, the success of Helldivers 2 is impressive, but if the studio wants to continue its success, keeping Warbonds from following the current trend is the key to longevity.