Arrowhead CEO: Helldivers 2 Will Never Get PvP To Reduce “Toxic” Elements In The Community

If you’ve been waiting to pit yourself against fellow Helldivers in Arrowhead’s latest venture, might as well bid those prospects goodbye. Arrowhead Game Studios’ CEO Johan Pilestedt just confirmed that the game will never get a PvP mode, citing the attempt to reduce toxicity in the gaming community as the reason behind this decision. Everything considered, I’m sure we can all agree that the Arrowhead lead has a solid point here. 

Hey; We'll "never" add a PvP-mode. This is to reduce toxic elements from the community.

We want an environment that's supportive, fun and where we all are fighting on the same side!

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) February 14, 2024

Anyone who has ever picked up a controller in multiplayer settings knows how fast things can go wrong in terms of hate speech, bullying, and harassment, so pretty much no one is a stranger to all those things. In fact, a recent study conducted by Dr. Rachel Kowert from Take This, a mental health-focused non-profit organization, shows that 7 out of 10 players avoid certain games due to toxic communities alone.

Johan expands on the thought, saying, “We want an environment that’s supportive, fun, and where we all are fighting on the same side!” While Helldivers 2 has a ton of PvP or PvPvE potential, you cannot help but admire the thought process of the folks up high, especially considering this unfortunate norm in online gaming in the day and age we live in today.

Not scared. Just we don’t want the toxicity that naturally comes with it. There are plenty, actually most, games that provide PvP. We make games for people that just want to have a challenging time with friends but in a PvE setting. If you want PvP I recommend Tarkov,” said Johan in a follow-up tweet.

Other Content to Check Out: 

• Helldivers 2 Creative Director Addresses Bug, Calling It A “Feature”
• Yuri Lowenthal Confirms Helldivers 2 Role; Says Performance Inspired By Starship Troopers
• Helldivers 2 Dev Rolls Back Recent PC Patch; New PS5 Update Out

On a side note, Helldivers 2 has been received exceptionally well by fans and critics alike, with the game selling about a million copies within a week of its release, and blowing through the publisher’s estimates. Furthermore, the title clocked the highest concurrent player count on PC for a PlayStation title, smashing the previous record set by Santa Monica’s God of War.

Helldivers 2 came out on February 8, 2024, for the PlayStation 5 and PC.