Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has addressed player complaints about the pricing of the recently released Killzone crossover, insisting that it was the driving force behind the decision, not Sony.
Helldivers 2 and the first part of the Killzone crossover include a Killzone-themed armor set, assault rifle, banner, cape, and player title. If you want all the Killzone items, you’ll have to hand over Super Credits for about twice the price of a Premium Warbond and about half the price of Helldivers 2.
Arrowhead CEO Shams Georgani took to Helldivers’ Discord to answer the question with varying success, further angering the studio’s community.
“First of all – this is our first collaboration so we’re going to figure it out as soon as we can,” Georgani began “Tell us what you’d like to see in the future. Second it’s optional – we sell more – as much Illuminate type stuff as we can throw away for free.”
This comment in particular did not go down well, with players pointing out that Helldivers 2 is not a free-to-play game and therefore should not adopt a free-to-play pricing strategy.
Continuing to stoke the fire, Georgani said price feedback was discussed during Arrowhead’s monthly townhall meeting on Wednesday, and promised that the studio would “grape” from the community for how well items are selling, whether they’re being used and feedback.
“Obviously we want to find the sweet spot of people who like the content and the price and buy Bazzisus from that,” Georgani added. “It obviously didn’t hit that mark.”
While the prices of Killzone items have hit the headlines, fans are also expressing concern over the FOMO associated with their limited-time sales. Part of this Killzone crossover will only be available in Helldivers 2’s in-game store for five days before it rotates.
Georgani then said that running Helldivers 2 was “difficult” and admitted that the studio had never run a major live service game before. “The last release Arrowhead was in 2015 and the studio was much smaller,” he said. “We’re doing our best. Sometimes we falter. I think we’ve shown that we’ll persevere and improve things in time. I understand you want us to never falter – but I can’t promise you that we will every time. Hit the mark.”
Amid the backlash, some fans wondered if Arrowhead had been pressured by publisher and IP owner Sony to set the Killzone price. After all, Sony has had a contentious relationship with Arrowhead and Helldivers 2 players following the company’s decision to force PC gamers to link PSN accounts to play. Even now, Helldivers 2 remains unavailable to play in many countries where Sony does not support PSN accounts.
However, Georgani insisted that in terms of killzone item value, Arrowhead was in charge. “It’s a partnership (with Sony),” he said, “but we’re in the driving seat behind the decision. It’s on us.”
Meanwhile, players are wondering if the Killzone crossover was intended to be sold as a premium Warbond (leaked before Helldivers 2 was announced and offered for release. Taking to Twitter to respond to more complaints from fans, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilstad confirmed the Warbond theory and Explained why it was changed to selling individual items in the in-game store.
“The reason we changed it from a warbond was actually because there was concern that a high-priced warbond would carry negative sentiment.”
It appears that negative sentiment has hit the studio anyway, a point made near Pilested. “We just want to create great experiences that are sustainable for years to come,” he countered. “As part of that, we need to figure out how to make HD2 financially sustainable in the long term.”
Thoughts now turn to the release of the second part of the Killzone crossover next week. Will Arrowhead adjust prices in response to the backlash, or stick to its guns? We’ll find out on December 23.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or privately at wyp100@proton.me.
