Arrowhead release a 60-day plan to deal with the Helldivers II update backlash

Arrowhead Game Studios’ game director, Mikael Eriksson, recently posted on Reddit that the game developer would implement a 60-day plan to address key issues raised by fans in the latest Helldivers II update. Arrowhead management believed that the update did not hit the mark.

Arrowhead announced the release of Escalation of Freedom on July 23, commenting that it was the biggest update the game ever received. Many Helldivers II fans still expressed disappointment after the update’s release on August 6. 

The Escalation of Freedom (1.001.002) patch notes highlighted the new difficulty levels, enemies, environmental hazards, biome, and mission objectives. The update also released larger enemy outposts for the new Terminid and Automaton enemies and balanced and updated gameplay. 

Arrowhead developers are currently managing the feedback from the update to make necessary changes. The displeasure in the Escalation of Freedom (1.001.002) is only one of the controversies surrounding the Helldivers II this year. Sony and Arrowhead changed PC account requirements for Helldivers II players on Steam, receiving negative feedback.

Arrowhead explains its 60-day plan 

Mikael Eriksson explained that the game development company did not get a few things right. He also mentioned inconsistencies in fundamental aspects, such as the game’s balance and direction.

“All of that is on us and we are going to own that.  As many of you have pointed out, and we agree, what matters most now is action. Not talk.”

– Mikael Eriksson, Arrowhead’s Game Director

The company wants to make nearly 10 updates to the Escalation of Freedom update in the next 60 days. Eriksson further explained that Arrowhead would focus on a bigger perspective of the game. Arrowhead will improve the patch notes process, include more blog posts and streams, and regularly publish player surveys. 

Some updates that players can expect in the next 60 days include fixing the game’s balance, bug fixes, improved game performance, reworked gameplay and charges, fixing the flamethrower’s visuals, and more. Arrowhead published patch notes for the Escalation of Freedom 1.001.003 update on August 13, including several improvements.

Fans seem to be losing faith in the game studio

The back-and-forth between developers over the past few days revealed the displeasure among the Helldivers II fanbase. A Reddit thread delved into Arrowhead CEO’s comment on the ongoing Helldivers II update fiasco. 

Shams Jorjani commented on the Helldivers II Discord channel that the game development company was disappointed on a few levels. Jorjani explained that there was ‘nice stuff’ the fans were not focusing on. The Arrowhead CEO reiterated that the fans’ sentiment was credible, especially since the fans remained unimpressed with the latest balance round. 

Jorjani’s statement insisted that the company would find ways to prevent the current situation from happening again. The CEO also said that talking would not be enough and that the company’s actions would matter. 

Fans still seemed skeptical about Arrowhead’s ability to deliver on its promises. One Redditor commented that the company had made similar ‘doing better’ statements in the past. The commenter also said the statement sounded like a repackaged ‘ we will do better next time.’

Others felt that the company didn’t have good internal communication about updates. A Redditor reiterated the need for the entire team to know what every update contains. The Redditor added that the company should know how the changes affect missions to create a standard.