Helldivers 2's latest patch enforces a 15-minute AFK timer

techradar.com:

A new patch has been rolled out for Arrowhead Game Studios’ third-person squad shooter Helldivers 2, which, amongst other fixes, aims to address the issue of inactive players taking up server space while not actually playing at all.

In case you were unaware, Helldivers 2 has been struggling since launch with its own popularity. Server issues have caused a number of problems for players, to the point where Arrowhead has enforced a concurrent player cap of around 450,000 to stop too many people from playing at the same time and boost stability. However, some players have been attempting to bypass the login queues by simply never logging out. Up until today, you could essentially jump straight back into the action by leaving your game running even when you’re not playing.

Given the 450,000 concurrent player cap, this meant that people who were AFK (away from their keyboard or console) could take up server space when others who were actually active struggled to get in. This led to calls from fans for the game to include an AFK timer to kick those leaving their game running, and today (February 22), their wish has been granted.

As outlined in the patch notes for version 1.000.11, Helldivers 2 players who are inactive for 15 minutes will now be booted back to the title screen. This duration means that you should still be able to briefly step away from the game for a short break, but ensures that players who are gone for longer periods of time aren’t holding up the queue. 

Today’s update has also fixed a number of crashes, including some which could occur when joining others’ ships, and one which could be triggered after attempting quickplay multiple times in a row. In addition, the patch notes confirmed that Arrowhead is still working on Helldivers 2’s limited login rate, disconnection issues while playing, and much more.

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