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Former Halo developers have spoken out amid Helldivers 2’s shocking rise in popularity. They claim to have pitched dozens of unsuccessful ideas, one of which is an ODST title in the same vein as PlayStation’s latest big hit.
There’s no doubt, Helldivers 2 has skyrocketed far above everyone’s expectations. With hundreds of thousands of players participating all at once, developers have been quick to expand server capacity and accommodate the rapidly growing fan base.
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Evidently, not even those at the studio or at Sony predicted such a monumental participation rate for a sequel that’s been nearly a decade in the making. Its popularity is so widespread that even Xbox owners are requesting a port, including Phil Spencer himself.
Given its impact on the industry, many have spoken out openly in recent days. With its clear similarities to Microsoft’s Halo franchise, especially the ODST installment with its nearly identical sequences, it also attracted the attention of former Halo developers.
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One tweet in particular caught fire on February 18, when a player claimed to have learned about a Helldivers-inspired release from 343 Industries, one that leaned heavily toward the ODST label, putting players back in the armor of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers .
This post quickly garnered over a million impressions on the platform before catching the attention of former Halo developers with experience working under the 343 banners.
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While one simply responded with an eyes emoji, refusing to elaborate, former lead designer Kevin Schmitt chimed in with a fitting insight. During his nearly 12 years in office, Schmitt claimed to have come up with “between 20 and 30 game ideas that would have totally worked in the Halo universe.”
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“Lots of ODST-themed (single-player) and (multiplayer) gameplay. “Some were galaxy-spanning, some were more intimate… and one was really dark.”
So while the Helldivers-style tone isn’t explicitly confirmed, there’s a good chance he was among the few dozen Schmitt and others in 343 who were eager to cross the line.
For now, Halo fans simply have to imagine a world where ODST gets a little more love. It’s been 15 years since Xbox owners jumped into combat ODST style, but all this time later, Helldivers 2 may now deliver the “perfect“Experience in that sense.
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