Will Helldivers 2 be on Xbox?

Is Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox Series X and Series S? At time of writing it seems like it's probably not going to happen, but that's not a guarantee in an industry as chaotic and changeable as this one. Xbox players have wanted their chance to fight in the Galactic War for a while, so it's worth discussing whether HD2 will be on Xbox any time soon. While the answer isn't yes yet, it's not all bad...

Everything we know about a possible Xbox port of Helldivers 2

Right now, there is no strong indication that Helldivers 2 will be coming to Xbox in the future. That's not to say it never will - we can't rule it out for certain - but you probably shouldn't expect it, and certainly not any time soon.

Here's the situation: while Helldivers 2 was developed by Arrowhead Studios, it's published by Sony and PlayStation - so they have a lot of control about where it goes and what consoles it can be ported to. And considering that Xbox is Sony's main market competitor, it's unlikely that they'd allow an incredibly popular game to go to their rival without a strong incentive, if at all. Exclusives are a market tactic specifically designed to undermine each other, after all.

This has not gone unnoticed. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer commented recently in an interview for Stephen Totilo's Game File newsletter that "I will say, when I look at a game like Helldivers 2 — and it's a great game, kudos to the team shipping on PC and PlayStation — I'm not exactly sure who it helps in the industry by not being on Xbox" (thanks, IGN).

This was part of a larger discussion about trends of exclusivity in gaming, but there is something to be said for the fact that such an important figure at Microsoft and Xbox seems frustrated that Helldivers 2 isn't present on the Series X and S.

Recently we've also seen comments from Shawn Layden, former CEO for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios, pointing out the risks involved in exclusivity and speaking about the benefits of reaching more people, rather than remaining exclusive to one console (thanks, VentureBeat). Helldivers 2 itself was specifically mentioned, and the positives of making it accessible on PC as well as PlayStation. Of course, we stress that Layden's involvement in Sony's decision making is, as far as we know, currently negligible, commenting as a former member of the company. 

Sony have also ported PlayStation exclusives to PC in the past - i.e., God of War 2018 and Spider-Man, while Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves have recently appeared on PlayStation. The idea of Helldivers 2 going the other way is certainly not impossible. 

Finally, there's fan outcry - not only have PlayStation and PC players seemed enthusiastic about the idea of bringing Xbox into the fold, but Xbox players have even started petitions to encourage Microsoft and Sony to bring the game to the Series X/S, some of which have obtained over 100,000 signatures. There's no guarantee anything will come of them, of course, though nothing will motivate a business like a large audience promising to pay for a product.

So to summarise: right now there's no indication that Helldivers 2 will be ported to the Xbox in the future and it may very well not happen at all, but there does seem to be some pressure on multiple angles to see it occur in the future. Whether that does end up being the case remains to be seen, but for now Xbox players should probably not be optimistic about diving any time soon.

© 12DOVE. Not to be reproduced without permission