Johan Pilestedt, the creative director of Helldivers 2 and CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, has disputed the idea that the game is pay-to-win in a series of social media posts.
Helldivers 2 has two battle passes, termed “Warbonds”. One Warbond is freely accessible to all players whereas the other premium Warbond is priced at 1,000 in-game Super Credits.
Players are able to harvest Super Credits from playing the game, though it is significantly easier and faster to purchase the premium Warbond by spending $10.
In order to unlock items in the Warbond, players must spend Medals, which are gained when completing missions or exploring the mission area.
The pain point for some players is that the premium Warbond contents are not only cosmetic; they include improved versions of basic weapons with buffs like stunning enemies and explosive damage.
On X, Pilestedt responded to a player who was countering the claims of Helldivers 2 being a pay-to-win title, pointing out that Super Credits are earnable through in-game activities.
I'm partial but we really applied ourselves to not make it p2w even though items are functionally different. The only item that's p2w is the revolver – which will win you any "cool gun" competition. Only (minor) problem is that it's not that good. 🤷 https://t.co/c8T8TruLVi
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) February 11, 2024
He also added that Arrowhead Game Studios is tracking what Helldivers 2 players are saying about their experiences to inform the content of forthcoming updates, as well as using their ideas as inspiration.
“‘You have to earn the right to monetize’ – I truly believe that,” continued Pilestedt. “If people want to support this title they have an option, but we are never forcing anyone to do so.”
In spite of a bout of technical hiccups, Helldivers 2 became Sony’s biggest PC launch with 81,840 concurrent players, dethroning God Of War‘s record from 2022.
In other gaming news, Battlestate Games added microtransactions to Escape From Tarkov, however, these only relate to expanding the in-game stash storage space and access to the practice co-op mode.