Helldivers 2 Should be the First Live-Service Game Not to Buckle to the Cosmetic Trend

As Helldivers 2 continues to catapult in popularity and player counts, fans wonder what the game’s next chapter will bring about. We recently learned how the game will introduce new enemy types, guns, mechs, and more, but players are turning their focus on another part of the game—cosmetics.

In today’s live-service games, cosmetics, battle passes, and microtransactions for exclusive items are common. The consensus is that these are fine so long as they’re not game-breaking advantages that players can have.

Helldivers 2 Community Takes Stance Against Cosmetics

Depending on their execution, cosmetics can certainly affect immersion, and the Helldivers 2 community wants to stay far away from them. 

In a recent post on the game’s subreddit, a player expressed concerns about a lack of faith in preserving original settings in modern games:

There are too many games these days that just have no faith in their own original setting, and we end up getting the weirdest mix of things with no real identity to it, like the new Warhammer x Call of Duty crossover that’s coming. With Helldivers, I’d really prefer they just stick to what they made and not become some big advertisement for other IPs, or ruin their own look from the silliest cosmetics possible. 

They continued:

Even though there is clear inspiration from several different pieces of media, Helldivers is a unique game in its look, feel, and story. It would be such a shame and a disservice to ruin it with things like collabs.

The post concluded with “Let Helldivers just be Helldivers.” However, an edit was later made where OP clarified that they wouldn’t mind gear inspired by other series, so long as it fits the Helldivers setting.

Players Give Their Two Cents on the Cosmetics Discourse

Another comment made an interesting suggestion—instead of having visual cosmetics, the game could introduce voice cosmetics:

Give me a diver with Southern drawl. Give me one with a New Zealand accent, a Canadian accent, and Nigerian accent, a fucking Minnesotan accent. So, so many cool and funny accents to choose from.

They added,

Instead of following the CoD (I know CoD had voice packs, this is not that) trend of brightly colored skins, we get to hear maniacal cackles from the toughest sounding accents to the goofiest ones.

This would certainly make for interesting gameplay and add a touch of immersion to the game as well. What says unity and democracy better than people that sound like they’re from different parts of the world, coming together to fight against the big bad?

What do you think of these suggestions for Helldivers 2? Do you have any of your own? Drop your ideas in the comments below!