Helldivers 2 will “never” get PvP because Arrowhead don't want a toxic community

If you’ve been yearning to take up arms against Super Earth as either an arachnid, a robot or a filthy (managed) democracy-hating human traitor, then I have bad news, roughneck. Helldivers 2 will “never” get a PvP mode, according to Arrowhead’s CEO Johan Pilestedt. The reason? They want to avoid encouraging any toxic behaviour in the new shooter’s multiplayer community.

Given that Helldivers 2 is a game with mandatory friendly fire in which you can kill team-mates by respawning right on top of them, I fear the Good Ship Camaraderie may already have sailed, but I’m very early on in my Helldiver career, and I’m… intrigued by how Arrowhead’s efforts at community curation sit alongside/within the game’s premise of playing a dirty space fascist locked in an endless xenophobic crusade.

“We’ll “never” add a PvP-mode,” Pilestedt told a Xitter user last night (I think the air quotes are for emphasis – I don’t think he’s trying to invite scepticism). “This is to reduce toxic elements from the community. We want an environment that’s supportive, fun and where we all are fighting on the same side!”

Asked by another user whether Arrowhead are just worried about competing with other PvP games like Call of Duty, Pilestedt added: “Not scared. Just we don’t want the toxicity that naturally comes with it. There are plenty, actually most, games that provide PvP. We make games for people that just want to have a challenging time with friends but in a PvE setting.” He ended by recommending Escape From Tarkov – eighth on our list of the best survival games – to people who are hungry for competitive play.

Again, you could argue that Helldivers 2 already unofficially supports PvP, but Pilestedt might respond that the game’s friendly fire component is designed to be amusing, not enraging.

The game’s fascist space war is, of course, open and gleeful satire, a videogame retelling of Paul Verhoeven’s parodic movie adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s military sci-fi novel Starship Troopers. You’re not supposed to actually want to be a frothing space Nazi. But Pilestedt seems hopeful that players will take the premise seriously enough to form lasting bonds and an enduring, happy community. In regards to an IGN piece about best co-op practices in the game, he commented: “I love to see a culture being born out of the need to survive.”