Helldivers 2 release date: Pre-order and latest news
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Although there is an official Starship Troopers game courtesy of Offworld Industries, Arrowhead Game Studios has its own take on the bug-squashing formula with its follow-up Helldivers 2.
And we’ve got everything you need to know - including its release date, pre-order information and gameplay.
We’ll also take a look at if Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Game Pass, for those who’d like to try it out without forking out the asking price.
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For players hoping to hop into the action at ground zero, we have the Helldivers 2 UK launch time, too, as well as the situation for preloading the game on PS5 and Steam.
But soon there’ll be plenty of aliens and robots to defeat in order to save and expand Super Earth, so keep reading soldier!
When is the Helldivers 2 release date?
Helldivers 2 will release on 8th February 2024.
This is almost nine years on since the release of the original Helldivers, making for an exceptionally long time between the two games.
Arrowhead Game Studios revealed it was working on a new game in 2020, though, and blog posts reveal the "new project" had been in development for some time before this announcement.
It’s certainly looking like all the years of hard work will pay off, as Helldivers 2 seems like a thoroughly hilarious and fun bug-stomping romp through the galaxy.
If you want to be there for humanity on day one, keep reading for the pre-order lowdown!
When is the Helldivers 2 UK launch time?
Helldivers 2 will launch at 9am GMT on Thursday 8th February.
This was confirmed by Community Support on the official Helldivers Discord, and then by the official X (formerly Twitter) account.
If you are playing on PlayStation 5, Helldivers 2 is available to pre-load - meaning you can play the second the game goes live.
As of writing, there is no such feature on Steam, which is a bit of a shame seeing as the game requires 100GB of storage space.
Hopefully, this will be added before the launch date for those who don’t have the best gaming broadband, avoiding a situation where players are left watching their friends have all the fun without them.
Can I pre-order Helldivers 2?
Yes, you can pre-order Helldivers 2 and the Super Citizen Edition.
Anyone who pre-orders the game will receive three extra outfits as a bonus:
- 'TR-7 Ambassador of the Brand' – Promotional armour made by SUMY Corp as part of a highly successful marketing campaign for frozen yogurt.
- 'TR-62 Knight' – Crafted to deliver justice to the darkest crevices of the galaxy.
- 'TR-9 Cavalier of Democracy' – Bearers of this armour ride no equine mount, but are nonetheless borne to battle atop the trusty steed of Liberty.
The standard edition just includes the base game, but if you opt for the Super Citizen Edition, you can net the following goodies:
- ‘DP-53 Saviour of the Free’ Armour Set.
- ‘Will of the People’ Cape.
- ‘MP-98 Knight’ Weapon.
- Super Citizen Status.
- Stratagem Hero Ship Game.
- ‘Steeled Veterans’ Premium Warbond.
Helldivers 2 PS5 pre-order
Helldivers 2 PC pre-order
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Which consoles and platforms can play Helldivers 2?
Helldivers 2 will be available to play on PlayStation 5 and PC.
The original Helldivers launched exclusively for the PS3, PS4 and PS Vita, and saw a PC release some months later.
It never saw a launch on any other platform, though, owing to the fact that it was a PlayStation Studios title.
The only difference with Helldivers 2 is the simultaneous PS5 and PC release, but the PlayStation console exclusivity remains the same.
This puts a spanner in the works for anyone hoping to see Helldivers 2 come to any rival platforms that offer a convenient subscription service, something we’ll get into just below…
Is Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox and Game Pass?
No, Helldivers 2 is not coming to Xbox consoles or the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
As we mentioned earlier, Helldivers 2 is a PlayStation Studios game, making it nigh-on unimaginable that Helldivers 2 would make an appearance on Microsoft's hardware or membership club.
It certainly hasn’t been the case for the original Helldivers, and given the corporate wrangling that has taken place between Sony and Microsoft, it doesn’t seem likely Arrowhead Game Studios would be permitted to launch it on Xbox.
Stranger things have happened, however, and if Helldivers 2 ever does grace the Xbox or Game Pass, we’ll be sure to update you as soon as we know anything.
Read more on Helldivers 2: Helldivers 2 release date | Helldivers 2 player count | Helldivers 2 server status | Helldivers 2 mechs | Helldivers 2 enemies | Helldivers 2 stratagems | Helldivers 2 difficulty levels | Helldivers 2 trophies | Helldivers 2 ‘Rickroll’ Steam Deck players | Helldivers 2 solo guide | Helldivers 2 crossplay | Helldivers console exclusivity explained | Is Helldivers 2 on PS4? Alternatives explained | Helldivers 2 roadmap
Helldivers 2 gameplay and story details
As seen in the trailer above, Helldivers 2 is a very tongue-in-cheek four-player co-op game that takes the premise of Starship Troopers and runs with it.
There are plenty of aliens - dubbed the Terminid Brood - and robots known as Automatons that must be crushed to preserve the "freedom" of Super Earth.
One novel gameplay mechanic is the requirement of heavy weaponry to be manipulated by two players, such as rocket launchers, which will no doubt cause some heated words to be exchanged in the midst of battle.
The trailer heavily features friendly fire, too, meaning players will have to be careful (or not) when shooting blindly into the oncoming hordes, but as Arrowhead Game Studios says: "Friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war."
When not in combat, players will be aboard their spaceship, and will be able to see a tactical overview of the situation.
High Command will dispense major and personal orders. Major orders are big missions such as taking over a planet that the rest of the community will be working towards.
Personal orders are much more specific, and act more like your typical daily challenges or activities. This can be things like destroying a certain enemy in a specific way. By doing so, you’ll unlock rewards.
There are missions for the players to undertake during operations, too, such as launching a nuclear missile, getting artillery emplacements set up and destroying enemy structures.
The Helldiver destroyer can be upgraded too by securing "samples". This will unlock better equipment and weapons which can be equipped before undertaking a mission.
Is there a Helldivers 2 trailer?
As well as the gameplay trailer, there is the more concise The Fight for Freedom Begins launch trailer, which can be viewed just below.
We see much of the same explosive antics from the Helldivers, presented in a format similar to the propaganda segments in Starship Troopers.
There’s plenty of footage of the player and fellow companions being sent to the afterlife by all manner of explosions, charging aliens and tanks.
The trailer makes out that many of these missions will truly feel like a last stand, and players will no doubt experience many epic (and hilarious) moments in their quest to expand Super Earth.
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Authors
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to RadioTimes.com's Gaming section. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
