PC and PlayStation players arm in arm expanding Super Earth.
Helldivers 2 pits four players together in a galactic battle for supremacy, as the Terminid Brood and Automaton faction threaten the expansion of Super Earth – and we’ve got the multiplayer platforms explained to answer the burning question, “Is Helldivers 2 crossplay?”
It won’t be just you and three friends saving (or destroying) the galaxy, as players across lobbies will be contributing to a massive war effort that seeks to squash the bugs and robots out of existence, so it makes sense to wonder if we can combine our efforts to do so.
If you’re getting whiffs of Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 film adaptation of Starship Troopers, then you’d be spot on – as Helldivers 2 takes great inspiration from the satirical war film, and has imbued much of the same ironic pastiche of imperialism.
Love gaming? Listen to our podcast, One More Life!
But with regards to the Helldivers 2 crossplay situation: Would you like to know more?
Is Helldivers 2 crossplay? Multiplayer across platforms explained
Yes, Helldivers 2 is crossplay – with PS5 and PC players able to play together.
This is no doubt owing to the fact that is it a cooperative four-player game, something confirmed as much by Arrowhead Game Studios community manager Katherine Baskin in a PlayStation blog post.
“Community and teamwork are the most important pillars of Helldivers 2, and so it is essential to ensure players can work together regardless of the system they choose to use,” it reads.
“Together we can celebrate victories, mourn losses and liberate the galaxy without platform boundaries.”
Having a shared pool of players will give Helldivers 2 much longer legs over the course of its lifespan, as the community will be united as opposed to stuck in two camps.
If the player count were to fall to small enough numbers on each platform, the online servers may be pulled. This greatly negates the risk of this, or at the very least delays it for many years to come.
This has massively helped with titles such as Arma: Reforger, which has a comparatively small player count on Steam and Xbox respectively.
Due to crossplay, however, there are many fully populated servers in all time zones, and it has helped keep the online community alive and well since its initial early access launch.
The only issue with crossplay is players using controllers going against PC users who have a keyboard and mouse, which are far more accurate when it comes to competitive shooting games.
As Helldivers 2 is PvE, though, console players will most likely be relieved to have a pin-sharp PC sniper on their team – rather than feeling the need to throw their controller at the TV.
Listen to our One More Life podcast and subscribe to our gaming newsletter for all the latest intel.
Looking for something to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.