Within days, Helldivers 2 had more than 1 million people playing at once, and by May, it had earned the distinction of the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, outpacing God of War Ragnarok with 12 million units sold in 12 weeks. — Photos: Arrowhead Game Studios
As Arrowhead Studios was putting the finishing touches on its multiplayer sci-fi shooter Helldivers 2, Johan Pilestedt was firming up the game’s online infrastructure.
Pilestedt, then the developer’s CEO and now its chief creative officer, estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 people would buy Helldivers 2 at launch, based on audiences for similar games in the genre. He decided to make sure the studio’s servers could handle up to 150,000 concurrent players, just in case.
