Helldivers 2 experienced a tumultuous first year, marked by extreme highs and lows in user ratings. After initially becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation game, it faced a drastic drop in its Steam user score, falling to as low as 19%. CEO Shams Jorjani detailed the struggle to recover, emphasizing their reliance on a structured 60-day plan and consistent updates. Inspired by the success of No Man's Sky, they aimed to transform the game's perception through dedicated improvements, highlighting the importance of community feedback and ongoing support for game longevity.
We went down to like 30 [percent positive] in [Steam's] user score, and usually that's the death knell for a game, but we came back from that.
Games that get 19% user score do not generally recover... the majority of the Swedish studio was off on summer break, something Jorjani says is taken very seriously in Sweden.
I was very much inspired by No Man's Sky and the team over there, that had a similar kind of journey: very hyped, and then bombed.
No Man's Sky has become emblematic of the power of post-launch updates, spending years creating an in-depth and beloved game after a notoriously rocky launch.
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