Helldivers 2 is delaying any further new content for now — here’s why that’s a good thing

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Following a massive release on Xbox, *Helldivers 2* quickly sold over 920,000 copies in its first week – a better start than it had on PlayStation. Game Director Mikael Eriksson then gave an interview on the game’s YouTube channel to talk about how the game is running, its current status, and future plans.

Some players are understandably upset that Arrowhead isn’t adding new content at the moment, but Eriksson has explained that this is the right choice. He admitted that Helldivers 2 isn’t running as smoothly as it should, and after trying it on Xbox myself, I agree – it still needs improvement.

Arrowhead presses pause to fix Helldivers 2’s performance

Eriksson has admitted that the latest *Into the Unjust* update is causing performance problems. These aren’t just limited to occasional lag; players are also experiencing crashes, bugs, and overall clunky gameplay.

It’s not just me who’s been seeing issues with Arrowhead, a lot of other players have been sharing their frustrations on the game’s Discord. And honestly, I think their concerns are totally valid, and it sounds like the developers are actually listening and taking them seriously. Here’s what they’ve said:

Following the recent ‘Into the Unjust’ update, we encountered a number of problems, and both our players and our team noticed the impact.

Mikael Eriksson – Game Director of Helldivers 2

However, issues on consoles may take longer to resolve. Eriksson explained:

Getting better frame rates on consoles is proving difficult. Our most skilled engineers are currently working on it, not me personally.

Mikael Eriksson – Game Director of Helldivers 2

He also mentioned that things are already improving and he’s optimistic the team will succeed. For those who want to learn more, the complete interview is available above or through this link.

Why stability matters more than new content right now

Helldivers 2 is a really enjoyable game, and it’s great to see Xbox players having fun with it. I especially appreciate that the developers are focusing on making the game run better, because those improvements will eventually benefit handheld devices like the Steam Deck, Xbox Ally, and the new Ally X, which currently have trouble running the game smoothly.

Arrowhead has spoken about how their game runs on the Steam Deck before. CEO Shams Jorjani previously shared details on their official Discord server.

Our main goal is to ensure the game runs smoothly on our intended system requirements. If we achieve that, performance on the Steam Deck will naturally improve. After that, we can look into offering more formal support for it.

Shams Jorjani – CEO at Arrowhead

Back to the interview with Mikael Eriksson, he emphasized that the decision hinges on focusing on quality rather than simply increasing the amount of something.

We’re delaying some of our planned content and feature updates so we can focus on resolving these current issues.

It’s great that Arrowhead is prioritizing a smooth and fun experience for all Helldivers 2 players, focusing on solid performance instead of just adding new features. This is a welcome change from games that often overlook optimization and depend on technologies like FSR or DLSS to simply run the game.

A promising future for Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 quickly became popular after its initial release, and that popularity surged again when it launched on Xbox. I’m optimistic that Arrowhead will follow through on its plans to improve the game’s performance. Once those improvements are made, I hope the studio will reconsider adding features like cross-progression and cross-saves, which they’ve said they weren’t planning on before.

It’d be fantastic if Arrowhead Games considered an eight-player mode, an idea the CEO has mentioned before, stating:

“8 players is technically very challenging, but it would be cool and messy.”

Fans have repeatedly requested a split-screen option, and the developers have said it’s possible from a technical standpoint. As a longtime Halo player who fondly remembers playing split-screen, it’s the feature I’m most hoping they add.

Now that the game is available through Xbox’s streaming feature, it would be fantastic if it also joined the Play Anywhere program. This would be especially beneficial if the recent performance improvements make it run smoothly on devices like the Xbox Series X/S and future handhelds.

I completely agree with Arrowhead prioritizing performance improvements over adding new content, and I believe most players will appreciate that. We all remember the problems with the last big update, and nobody wants to experience that again.

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2025-10-15 15:41