Helldivers 2 would need “Sony and Phil [Spencer] to duke out” in order to get an Xbox port of Arrowhead’s shooter off the ground.
The bombastic experience launched in February for PC and PlayStation, where it quickly became beloved by swathes of players wanting to do their bit for liberty by squashing Termaninds and, on occasion, each other.
It’s a game about co-operation – and as Microsoft games land on PlayStation, this has lead to fans wondering whether Xbox players might eventually get a chance to join in with Helldivers 2 – even if the brand is owned by Sony.
The lack of an Xbox release is something that was recently highlighted again on the Helldivers 2 Discord, when one member posted (with an accompanying weepy emoji): “I just want reinforcements in the way of Xbox players. But that’s never gonna happen.”
To this, Arrowhead community manager Twinbeard replied: “Who says it couldn’t? It’s not up to us but to Sony and Phil to duke out, but hypothetically speaking, if both partners think it would benefit them from a financial/brand standpoint, it could.”
But, duke it out how? Well, earlier in the year, the community manager suggested a game of chess between the two platform holders.
Ultimately though, the fate of Helldivers 2’s Xbox dreams remain on the PlayStation maker’s shoulders. “If Sony believes it won’t [benefit the company] though, it won’t,” Twinbeard closed.
In other news, Twinbeard has also confirmed Helldivers 2 will get that shiny new PS5 Pro Enhanced label. “There will be differences between the current PS5 and the Pro versions, but what those are is yet to be confirmed,” the community lead wrote.
Not played for yourself, yet? We called the game a “wonderfully slapstick co-op experience” full of “high-chaos, high-comedy firefights” in Eurogamer’s Helldivers 2 review, awarding it four out of five stars.
Meanwhile, Helldivers recently made their Astro Bot debut, as part of the platformer’s free DLC.