The Helldivers 2 devs are fixing the game — but they also need to sleep

polygon.com:

Here’s a tiny window into what it’s like for a smaller developer to have a game they’re working on blow up. Arrowhead Game Studios’ bug-squashing third-person shooter Helldivers 2 launched simultaneously on PC and PlayStation 5 on Thursday, and it’s a hit, breaking into the top 10 most played games on Steam and becoming PlayStation’s biggest Steam launch to date.

But this wave of popularity has brought with it some problems for the online co-op game. Helldivers 2’s servers are struggling, with players reporting login issues, and rewards and progression not being properly recorded.

Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt took to X (formerly Twitter) and Steam late on Sunday to apologize and explain. His post is unusual in its candor and detail — not just in how it explains the exact technical nature of the problem, but the personal challenge it represents for the developers.

“I know the progression issue is frustrating, especially for newer divers that want to unlock sweet gear,” Pilestedt posted. “For now, please once again accept our sincere apologies for the issues you’re facing and rest assured, we’re doing our utmost to make it right. In order to do so, right now it is crucial that our team gets some sleep and we will be back at this again in a few hours.”

A message to the community in regards to our latest server update. <a href=«https://twitter.com/helldivers2?ref_src=» https:>@helldivers2

<a href=«https://twitter.com/ArrowheadGS?ref_src=» https:>@ArrowheadGS <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/Helldivers2?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#Helldivers2. pic.twitter.com/lwriSFbBbK

Without making a meal of it or angling for sympathy, Pilestedt painted a clear picture of a smaller development team racing to keep up with a game snowballing in popularity over its launch weekend. He implied the team didn’t get a lot of sleep, so they were sent home to get some rest and continue work on the fix the next day, refreshed. Hopefully, frustrated Helldivers 2 players can relate.

As for the