An analyst reports that Helldivers 2 sold twice as much in its second week as the game did in its first. Game sales typically peak at the week of release, but Arrowhead Game Studios’ co-op third-person shooter shows that isn’t always the case.
Helldivers 2 makes twice as much money in its second week
Mat Piscatella is an analyst for the market research company Circana Incorporated. In a recent tweet, he revealed that Helldivers 2 made twice as much money in the US in its second week as it did in the first. While a 100% increase is obviously a big deal, Piscatella pointed out how unusual it is for a game to grow like this. “Inverse decays are rare,” he said, “this large a week 2 jump even moreso, especially outside the holiday window. Great stuff.”
Piscatella didn’t provide specific numbers or offer any deeper insight into Helldivers 2 success. However, on February 11, Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt revealed the game had sold about 1 million copies. If sales doubled in week 2, it’s not reasonable to assume that it’s eclipsed 3 million units sold. Still, it’s best to wait for official confirmation on Helldivers 2’s sales numbers.
Either way, it is fair to say that Helldivers 2 is a massive success for the Stockholm-based studio. The game saw overall positive reviews, with the PlayStation 5 and PC versions both averaging 82 on Metacritic. Released simultaneously on both platforms, it was Sony’s most successful PC release to date and greatly surpassed the publisher’s expectations. While other Sony studios face layoffs and closures, Arrowhead recently announced it’s expanding in light of Helldivers 2’s phenomenal success.
