'Helldivers 2' Video Game Is Getting a Movie Adaptation from Sony

It’s another victory for the right side of history, as the Super Earth Armed Forces leadership in “Helldivers 2” would say: The immensely popular video game is getting a real-world, silver-screen adaptation that leaves fans wondering only, “What took you so long?”

The third-person shooter burst onto the scene in February 2024, with screenshots of armor-clad shock troops fighting robots on a tropical-looking world that made many commenters liken the game to a kind of “Space Vietnam.” Since then, the game has only grown in popularity, selling one million copies in its first three days and 12 million copies in just 12 weeks to become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time.

Fans’ enduring devotion led to Sony’s announcement of a movie less than a year later at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show.

The “Helldivers” universe is actually an ongoing, real-time virtual war between Super Earth, a future dystopian home world governed by “managed democracy,” and a trifecta of disparate alien civilizations, bent on destroying the Super Earth way of life. The jungle-like “Space Vietnam” battleground was just one of many different terrains on which forces of Super Earth fight to liberate. At any given time, tens of thousands of players (at one point, there were 700,000) around the real-life Earth are fighting for their lives and liberty in interplanetary combat.

Related: Is ‘Helldivers 2’ Really ‘Space Vietnam?’ Not Really

The “Terminator”-like robots are called Automatons and feature many different science fiction-inspired robot enemies. But the Automatons aren’t Super Earth’s only enemies: a race of insect-like creatures (clearly inspired by the “bugs” of “Starship Troopers") also threaten the human race. In December 2024, Arrowhead introduced a third invader, the return of an original “Helldivers” enemy, an almost magical alien race known as Illuminates that can turn humans into a kind of zombie.

Super Earth’s best defense is the Helldivers (the players), an elite force of heavily armed and armored shock troops who deploy to planets in four-person cooperative squads to accomplish set missions, such as freeing trapped colonists, launching a forgotten ballistic missile or simply eradicating mass numbers of enemy forces. Using a choice series of rifles, sidearms and armor along with air support and orbital attacks they can call upon, the Helldivers unleash freedom on the “bots,” “bugs” and “squids” trying to force their distinctive brands of autocratic rule on humankind.

The unspoken joke in the franchise (also in the vein of “Starship Troopers”) is that the forces of Super Earth might not be the good guys in the battle, but judging by news reports, propaganda and the strict rules of life in Super Earth colonies, it’s impossible to say (anyone accused of sympathizing with the enemy should be reported to their local democracy officer).

“Helldivers 2” was developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, but published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation and PC platforms. The movie will be a collaboration between Sony Pictures and Sony Productions.

It’s worth noting that the movie’s success will likely not be determined by the game’s popularity. Indeed, other productions based on video games have met mixed success. “Halo,” arguably one of the most popular video-game franchises of all time, lasted just two seasons on Paramount+, while “Twisted Metal” and “Fallout” are still in their first seasons on Peacock and Amazon, respectively. Movies like “Borderlands,” “Rampage,” “Warcraft,” “Assassin’s Creed,” “Resident Evil” and others have largely been met with mixed reviews. If “Helldivers” can keep faith with its campy and satirical roots, however, it just might stand a chance.

No release date has been set for the film.

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