Before I looked at this tweet from Obsidian, I hadn’t realized that the rest of the gaming community has been waiting for it. While the tweet itself is notable, the context around it is even more interesting. Obsidian, the developers of Grounded and the highly anticipated Helldivers 2, are thanking Arrowhead Game Studios, the makers of Helldivers, with a heartfelt message that just read “Freedom. Peace. DEMOCRACY.” in honor of the Xbox release of Helldivers 2. Their message was made all the more moving with a picture of a toy Super Destroyer miniature spaceship, which fits right into the lighthearted sarcasm of Obsidian’s message. I don’t know if that toy is supposed to be a warhead or a collectible, but there are multiple layers of terrifying potential if it’s the first one.
Helldivers 2’s launch has the stream filled with hype and excitement. The chat’s filled with people yelling things such as “YOOOOO!!!!”, “YOOOOO!!!”. Another person simply says “fire asf.”. No one is wrong when describing that mood as ‘fire.’ No one is wrong when describing that mood as ‘fire.’ The spirit of the chat is joyously frantic while everyone waits excitedly for a new game to be launched on a new platform. There are, of course, some outliers, because no community of people and especially not the internet is ever one hundred percent in support of any one thing. Someone said “Ew.” as a shot of negativity which is a very weak commentary and then the very panelist who I want to address second went on and said, “Why the fuck is this image oozing with woke gayness?” which is so comically bizarre to me because it’s a tiny spaceship, ironically, a tiny spaceship.
The comments devolved into a pointless discussion of child soldiers in the Helldivers universe. In one of the less pleasant attempts to be funny, one random commenter weirdly joked about the enlistment age of the children. After another person joked, “7 and up can do their part,” the jokes took a more unsettling turn. One of the darkest jokes was to follow up with “old enough to work at factories,” which in no way dipped into the light. I personally think that turns gaming Twitter into one of the more passable places for random hijacks, and this comes off as one of the more bizarre examples.
However, the topic of concern that most people remarked on was the cross-platform functionality. A user named jsoda26 basically called out Obsidian in saying “You should like go to PlayStation with grounded 2 like they went to Xbox with helldivers.” This triggered a grassroots movement on Twitter calling for the absence of PlayStation Grounded. The consensus was PlayStation does not allow early access and Grounded still is, in a technical way. Assumingly, it would make the jump post 1.0 release and TemTem being early access on PlayStation was used as a counter example that gave some hope on the matter. It all seems guesswork but it’s pretty amusing to have people debate studio tactics and platform exclusivity in the same conversation.
The requests really take the cake. Gosh, the requests. There’s a user who wanted Master Chief armor, “like what they did in the 360 era.” I appreciate the throwback and I love that there are still folks who remember it at all. I think it’s a neat idea. There was also a request for Avowed on PS5, which is kind of silly knowing it’s an Xbox Game Studio title, though I suppose there is no harm in asking.
Arguably the most enjoyable aspect of this, is the love exchanged between studios. Goodbye, Arrowhead. So long, Obsidian. They’re leaving, and people seem to be really feeling it. One person commented on their Grounded saying it was called “Liberty Park ‘FOR DEMOCRACY.’” I really enjoy those kinds of things. The interactions between the users of Obsidian and Arrowhead make it feel like we are one family, humor, and all.
The mini Super Destroyer is garnering quite a bit of attention as well. People are saying sweet, awesome, and generally giving props on how cool it looks. It’s a nice piece of merch or promo art, and it fits the over-the-top patriotic satire of Helldivers perfectly. Also, somebody replied in Spanish, “Repartiendo democracia en el Parque” which means “Spreading democracy in the Park,” and that is chef’s kiss, it’s perfect!
So, what’s the conclusion? Players are anticipating Helldivers 2 is out now on Xbox. It’s always great to observe public support from the studios. The community is always a blend of excitement with jokes, and at times, a bit of the stranger side of things. In essence, their main goal is spreading managed democracy across the galaxy, planet by planet. If this involves a seven-year-old “enlisting” to do their part, so be it. For liberty. For peace. For SUPER EARTH.
Anyway, if you haven’t checked out Grounded 2, I recommend grabbing a copy on Xbox. By the looks of it, it’s still gaining traction on PlayStation. The drop-in, drop-out gameplay is a lot of fun on its own. Calling some stratagems is a blast, as are the chances of getting teamkilled. It is part of the fun, so no worries. And here’s hoping we get to see that Master Chief armor in the later updates. Got to dream, right?
