There were a lot of games that came out of nowhere to become smash hits in 2024. Across all genres and scale, some games just grabbed fans in ways that we weren’t expecting. But no game stood out more than Helldivers 2 from Arrowhead Game Studios.
In the Insider Gaming community forums, a vote was held to determine what you, our readers, thought was the biggest surprise of 2024 in gaming. With a number of great games to choose from, it turned out to be the closest vote of the six categories we had this year with Helldivers 2 and second-place Balatro being separated by just 3% of the votes.
But what made Helldivers 2 so surprising and special to the players?
The game was nearly a decade in the making and was a complete change up from the twin-stick shooter gameplay of the original. When it finally released in February, Helldivers 2 burst onto the scene with nearly 500,000 concurrent players on Steam and even more on PlayStation 5. The launch was so successful that developer Arrowhead Game Studios had to hire more staff to work on the game’s servers just to keep them online and functional.
Helldivers 2’s launch showed what could happen with a game-as-a-service when it’s released properly. Not only is the gameplay fun, but the lore that was developed, the story being told, and connection being forged by the community made for an experience many players hadn’t felt in quite some time. To add to it, it felt like those building the game actually had a passion for what they were creating and putting out.
Of course, the game has had its fair share of hiccups since the fast launch, and its player numbers have fallen a bit. But it’s still one of the most popular games on Steam daily, and should only stay strong as more is added for players.
What do you think was the biggest surprise gaming hit of 2024? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.
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