Palworld’s Free Expansion Proves a Success with Huge 868% Player Increase Leaving Us Wondering If Helldivers 2 Can Replicate It

Palworld opened up to a huge success on its release earlier this year and saw a meteoric rise in numbers. It became one of the most-played games of all time on Steam, selling over 15 million copies in its first month, and generating $500 million in revenue. However, players were out of it in the months following its release, and its numbers started to dip.

Nevertheless, this is not the end of Palworld, as it released a free expansion recently that resulted in a huge success by increasing the player count by 868%. Helldivers 2 is facing the same fate as Palworld, and players are wondering if it can also bounce back.

Will Helldivers 2 and Palworld Share The Same Fate?

According to Steamdb, Palworld dropped to just 13,990 players before the Summer update. Following the latest expansion, its numbers rose to 143,368 before falling to an average of 80,000 as of July 2, 2024.

Helldivers 2 has had a similar success chart. The game opened up to a huge success with an all-time peak of 458,709 but has now lost 90% of its players on Steam, dropping the current number to 13,214.

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However, similar to Palworld, Helldivers 2 might have a chance to bounce back with the next best update, but this approach has not been effective yet. There has been no significant surge other than a brief spike when a mass Automaton invasion happened, but that too failed to keep players attached.

Palworld’s recent spike in numbers is not definitive either. The game is bound to dip in a few months, and that is fine given its nature. But Helldivers 2 is a live service game that cannot afford any further dip. If running the game on PC no longer remains feasible Sony may be forced to react harshly.

Helldivers 2 Needs to Bounce Back Fast

The recent dip in numbers is a huge cause for concern for Sony, as they envisioned this game making a big impact in the live space.

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Helldivers 2 is not a failure by any means, and the declining numbers on Steam are just an indication of an issue that can be cured with good care. However, this trajectory is not what you want to see from an ongoing live service game, and can also become fatal very quickly if not taken seriously.

Declining numbers on Steam are not an indication of the game’s total failure, as PC is its secondary device, and a large chunk of players are attached to it via PlayStation.

It is difficult to assess the exact number of gamers currently playing the title on PlayStation, but it is safe to say that there are enough members to keep it running as of now.

Will Helldivers 2 bounce back? What do you think about the future of the game? Let us know in the comments below.