This past week in console gaming—Aug. 26, 2025, to be exact—the unthinkable occurred. In what many have called a historic swap for the ages, a port of Helldivers 2 was released on Xbox Series consoles by PlayStation Publishing LLC on the same day Gears of War: Reloaded launched on PlayStation 5. That’s right: a former PlayStation 5 console-exclusive title (excluding MLB The Show) published by Sony is now playable on Xbox Series X and S, while Reloaded—a “re-remaster” of the first installment in one of Microsoft’s most treasured console-exclusive franchises—can now be played on PlayStation 5.
Crazier still, both titles feature cross-platform play. Gears of War: Reloaded players on PlayStation can squad up with Xbox and PC owners, while Helldivers 2 players on Xbox can join PC and PlayStation users. No longer do we have to imagine some nebulous kumbaya moment in a distant future where console wars no longer exist. Right now (and I say this with affection), Xbots, Sony Ponies and the so-called PC Master Race are all enjoying both tentpole titles side by side, doing their part for Super Earth. For a middle-aged gamer like me, it’s a thing of beauty to witness. What a time to be alive.
In my colleague Phillip Watson’s 2024 review of the original PlayStation version of Helldivers 2, he praised the game for “being the buddy shooter we didn’t know we wanted,” but noted that “the talented team of nerds at Arrowhead Game Studios showed us it’s the one we NEEDED.” Having finally played Helldivers 2 last week, I strongly agree. I’d add that it’s also one of the best new co-op experiences to arrive on Xbox in years. I’m even willing to go as far as saying it does Halo better than 343 Industries ever could—and no, that’s not just because there’s a Halo 3: ODST/Halo: Reach-inspired Warbond available to commemorate Helldivers 2’s Xbox debut.
“I’d go as far as saying Helldivers 2 does Halo better than 343 Industries ever could.”
Despite being an over-the-shoulder, third-person shooter, Helldivers 2 accurately captures the Halo 3: ODST “Helljumper” experience of being fired toward the surface of a planet and landing feet-first in an active war zone. Those zones are often teeming with enemies far more numerous, ferocious and relentless than either you or your four-person squad—namely the Covenant, the Forerunners and the Flood.
Much like the ODST, Helldivers aren’t genetically enhanced Spartans. They’re regular humans, and as such, they can feel spongy when facing their own Super Earth adversaries, such as the giant insect-like Terminids, the robotic Automatons or the cybernetic Illuminate.
But it’s Helldivers 2’s other indisputable inspiration, Starship Troopers, that has empowered Arrowhead Game Studios to take the concept of sponginess and run with it straight into the comedic-satire end zone. The game invites players to laugh at the absurdity of a ceaseless war where humanity embraces government propaganda as gospel and the lives of soldiers are treated as nothing more than meat for the grinder of “Measured Democracy.”
It all sounds fairly dark, but it’s surprisingly fun to play. And it’s not as though the giant bugs, killer robots, cyborgs and mutated humans—the latter referred to as the “Voteless,” since they can no longer vote—are advocating peace. Am I right? Remember: it’s just a video game… or is it?
Content-wise and gameplay-wise, Helldivers 2 for Xbox Series X|S appears identical to its PlayStation 5 equivalent. That’s a smart decision, since the last thing Arrowhead Game Studios would want while trying to build as large a player base as possible for its nearly two-year-old live-service game is to draw the ire of diehard console warriors by favouring one platform over the other. Fittingly, even the cheekily named “Obedient Democracy Support Troopers” Premium Warbond, which includes Halo 3: ODST crossover content, is accessible to players on all platforms. Admittedly, it feels a little awkward that the crossover leans Xbox, but I’m fine with some Helldivers 2 peanut butter in my ODST chocolate.
One of the biggest benefits of jumping into Helldivers 2 now as an Xbox Series X or S owner is that all content updates, including the 16 Warbonds (think battle passes) released since launch, are already available. Much like Halo Infinite’s multiplayer battle pass system, Warbonds—which are seasonal passes that contain cosmetics, special armour sets with unique abilities, and boosters—can be unlocked with Super Credits. These are a premium currency that can either be earned through play or purchased directly for those who dislike or don’t have time for the grind. Also, the Illuminate and the Voteless factions are included from the start.
“Rarely can I say the same for other multiplayer games, but Helldivers 2 made it easy to meet new players and actually build a friends list again.”
Helldivers 2 is a purely co-op, PvE experience, so there’s no pay-to-win—only pay to show off your bling and access some toys sooner. Items are either cosmetic or grant perks that directly or indirectly benefit the entire squad. Most importantly, unlike Halo Infinite’s battle passes, Helldivers 2’s Warbonds aren’t time-gated and don’t expire if left unfinished.
Players can purchase or unlock any Warbond they want and progress at their own pace. They don’t even need to spend money to earn the necessary currency to unlock items, provided they are willing to put in the hours of gameplay. This should come as a relief for Xbox players, who may find the initial flood of content overwhelming but want to stay engaged without paying extra.
Speaking of not-so-great things that everyone in Helldivers 2 gets and that newly minted Xbox players should be especially wary of, Friendly Fire is an aspect of the game that truly sets it apart from the competition, in that it is “Always On” and cannot be turned off. This means that both you and your fellow Helldivers can easily kill one another by accident if you are careless with your fire, get to close to a zone that’s been painted by one of your team for a carpet bombing, stand in front of an auto turret’s line of fire when it’s targeting enemies, or cause all other sorts of hilarious mishaps.
I’ve even made the frequent mistake of being killed by my own supply drop pod because I was standing too close to its landing waypoint marker, instantly pulverizing my soldier into ground chuck while my squadmates looked on with laughter. My point is that death in Helldivers 2 comes quickly, easily and often. It can prove frustrating, especially for those accustomed to more traditional third-person and first-person shooters with mechanics like regenerating health and instant revivals by squadmates in the field.
The sooner players move past this way of thinking and embrace the game’s dark sense of humour, the better, because every soldier in Helldivers is expendable and will be quickly replaced—often by a soldier that looks identical except for a different voice.
To counter this, developer Arrowhead Game Studios has made Helldivers 2’s cycle of death as frictionless as possible. Fallen soldiers drop all the equipment they were carrying, which can be retrieved by returning to that spot. More often than not, though, it’s easier to move to safer ground and call in a stratagem—such as a supply drop—to get back up to speed.
Did you lose an important sample or currency tied to a reward that a teammate picked up while your replacement was dropping in? No problem. As long as someone on the team extracts with the item, everyone receives the reward. In that sense, teammates who collect your items are helping both you and themselves.
Getting back into the action after being killed is also Super Earth–easy. When available (that is, not on cooldown), any active player in the field can call in a quick and easy-to-remember “Reinforce” stratagem to summon a replacement Helldiver. In the case of a team wipe, the squad’s assigned Destroyer automatically sends down a fresh squad of four to continue the mission. The mission only fails if the team runs out of time before completing the primary objectives, which rarely happens, even when players only understand half of what they are doing—at least on the easier difficulty levels. As the game often suggests: if at first you don’t succeed, dive, dive again, and keep diving.
“In another universe where console wars still mattered, Helldivers 2 would have been a quintessential Xbox exclusive—but I’ll happily take this reality.”
Now I can only speak for the Xbox Series X|S versions of the game. Still, during my play sessions, I was surprised to discover an unusual, predominantly Xbox Live community trend that was “energized” by Helldivers 2 in a way that I did not expect. In roughly two-thirds of all the games I played, at least one other player was actively using a mic in open game chat (not Party Chat) and gaming as if it were still 2007.
Yes, this could largely be attributed to Xbox being the latest platform to join the Helldivers community, but I also encountered PC and PlayStation gamers chatting in open games as well, and found the majority of those players across all three platforms to be quite communicative and team-oriented.
Rarely can I say the same for other multiplayer games I’ve played recently, but Helldivers 2 makes it remarkably easy to find recent players, view active friends and add new ones through the Social tab in the pause menu. I didn’t even need to use my Series X’s built-in friends list. I came away with several new people to play future games with, which is an encouraging sign for the game’s long-term potential—not just on Xbox, but for the franchise as a whole.
The only concern I have with Helldivers 2 right now is how long Arrowhead Game Studios can keep pace with the game’s constantly evolving content. Even so, at the time of writing, there’s already a limited-time event involving a Terminid master breed called the Gloom that I’ll be hopping into as soon as I finish this review, so I’m not too worried in the short term. Looking ahead, there may also be opportunities to revisit past story arcs, vignettes and battle scenarios, allowing new Helldivers 2 players to experience content they may have missed prior to the Aug. 26 update.
There’s not much else I can add, other than to re-emphasize how good it feels to play a game like Helldivers 2 on an Xbox controller—especially the Elite Wireless Series 2. Arrowhead’s haptic-feedback design is superb, immersing me in the action with effects like the hollowing sensation of a gun clip as it empties or the impact of nearby drop pods crashing into the earth from orbit. Visually, everything detonates with flair, backed by headphone-rattling bass and impressive alpha effects.
In another universe where console wars still mattered, Helldivers 2 would have been a quintessential Xbox exclusive. But I’ll happily take this reality, with more Helldivers playing together across all three major platforms. You’re next, Nintendo Switch.
