Gamers shocked as Playstation's 'Helldivers 2' announces Xbox launch
A day after reports surfaced of mass layoffs at Microsoft and its gaming division, Xbox, Sony-published video game Helldivers 2 announced it's coming to Xbox next month.
Where once game publishers kept their products exclusively available to their own gaming systems — e.g., Sony games on Playstation, Microsoft games on Xbox — that wall appears to be breaking down. Helldivers 2, one of the most popular games of 2024, will be available on Xbox Series X and S starting on August 26. The game premiered on PlayStation 5 and PC in February 2024 and was an instant smash, selling tens of millions of copies, according to IGN. Helldivers 2 still remains a favorite on Steam.
Helldivers 2 is a cooperative, third-person shooter set in the 22nd century, with human soldiers battling hordes of aliens to save Super Earth. With crossplay enabled, Xbox, PC, and PS5 players will all be able to play Helldivers 2 together.
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The news of Helldivers 2's Xbox launch is even more surprising considering it happens the same day Microsoft releases Gears of War: Reloaded on PlayStation 5, the first time the once Xbox-exclusive series debuts on PlayStation. Meanwhile, Xbox's The Outer Worlds 2 arrives on PlayStation in October.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer elaborated on his exclusivity (or, rather, non-exclusivity) plans earlier this year.
"We are finding that our games shipping on multiple platforms is a good thing for Xbox," Spencer told The Destin Channel podcast. "It makes Xbox stronger...give[s] our teams the time they need, for us to invest in platform, for us to invest in hardware. I think all of this is a part of what Xbox will be, going forward."
Topics PlayStation Xbox Video Games
Neal joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2024, editing and writing stories about digital culture and its effects on the environment and marginalized communities. He is the former editorial director of The Advocate and Out magazines, has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, Curbed, and Los Angeles magazine, and is a recipient of the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NLGJA). He lives in Los Angeles with his family.
