2024 will undoubtedly be a year many will remember for the runaway successes of AA and indie games over their AAA counterparts. Helldivers 2, a team-based squad shooter where players defend the galaxy from alien invasion, pulled in hundreds of thousands of players when it launched earlier this year. The player numbers peaked at over 450,000 users in February on Steam alone, but despite the game’s overwhelming success at launch, peak concurrent players are down month on month, and a massive 90% when you compare September against February. 

So what was it about Helldivers 2 that got people so excited? Many will put it down to the quirky humor, the snappy gameplay, or the wider objectives that require all players to band together to achieve community goals. There are also some undeniable comparisons to be made with Starship Troopers and the game’s persistent shared world, with Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Studios creating a galaxy that is constantly under threat and adapts to the community’s actions and focus – keeping them coming back for more. 

But what happens when players feel like they’ve experienced everything the game offers? Maintaining popularity is a constant challenge for a live service game such as Helldivers 2, which has seen player numbers fall due to player fatigue and competition from other prominent video games. While player numbers are slowly increasing as the studio develops new content and challenges, there’s a massive opportunity to overhaul the game by collaborating with a well-known franchise for an IP crossover event. 

Arrowhead stated on a recent Discord Q&A that it was open to crossovers ‘if it makes sense.’ While this may seem like a standard, impartial comment to the player community, it highlights the importance of matching Helldivers 2 with the correct IP that feels like a natural extension of the game’s world rather than a galactic anomaly. 

Helldivers 2’s unique identity is based on tongue-in-cheek jokes, ironic scenarios, and a self-aware sense of humor that has established a unique identity for the shooter. It’s basically the video game equivalent of Starship Troopers. 

The collaborations that would ‘make sense’ for Arrowhead would require an IP that’s not afraid to be part of the joke. Licensors keen on collaborating with Arrowhead will need to be open to playing around with their brand so that it remains in keeping with the Helldivers world. This requirement may feel off-putting to specific IPs with an established reputation and a fear of having their products ‘mocked’ in a video game.  

The Helldivers community has fully invested in the game world, role-playing as overly patriotic Super Earth soldiers. Combining that level of fandom with another established IP could lead to increased player numbers, high engagement on the activation, and a memorable moment in the game’s persistent world. And it’s not like potential collaborations are hard to imagine. 

The space bugs lend themselves to an Alien or Predator collaboration, while the galactic war could easily crossover with Star Wars or Dune. We’ve already seen players create Warhammer mods for Helldivers 2 following the recent success of Space Marine 2, which should be a massive motivator for Warhammer and Arrowhead to start conversations. And then there’s the obvious IP of Starship Troopers itself—something we’ve already seen the movie's actors express interest in and is even more timely given the recent release of a new Starship Troopers video game opening up opportunities for a crossover event. 

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As seen with the Warhammer mod for Helldivers 2, the game’s heavy focus on cosmetic customization and enemy variety means plenty of easy wins from an IP crossover perspective. 

• A crossover with Halo could add ODST troopers into the game 
• A crossover with Warhammer could introduce new character skins from popular Warhammer 40K factions and limited-time events taking down Warhammer enemy factions. 
• A crossover with Alien could introduce a new limited-time game mode where players need to face off against the Xenomorph and other enemies. 

Outside of the easy wins, the game's over-the-top fun and self-aware humor mean IP that doesn’t seem like a natural fit could be integrated in a funny way through cosmetic items and poked fun of in dialogue. Hello Kitty skins or collaborations with anime brands? Why not? Helldivers 2 presents a rare opportunity for IPs—an integration where nothing is off the table. 

While it remains to be seen whether Arrowhead will pursue IP collaborations in the near future, any integration will likely aim to capture the same tone and feel that exists in the base game. With Newzoo data finding that IP collaborations can boost DAU for premium games by up to 19%, the right collab could be one of the most effective ways for Arrowhead to re-engage the Helldivers 2 community while adding new features to the game. 

McDonald’s is celebrating a new collaboration with miHoYo’s open-world RPG Genshin Impact for its Happy Meals. The McDonald’s app was given a Genshin Impact makeover for a limited time, but one of the biggest surprises of the campaign was it changed up the standard Happy Meal playbook by giving away in-game cosmetic items and currency rather than a plastic toy. 

This is a win-win for both McDonald’s and miHoYo. McDonald’s customers who might not be familiar with the game will be encouraged to download it so they can claim their rewards, while Genshin Impact players will be pushed to their local McDonald’s to buy menu items tied to the in-game rewards. 

This latest collaboration between McDonald’s and Genshin Impact is part of a growing trend where game studios are combining in-game and real-life rewards as part of their wider IP collaborations, demonstrating the mutual benefits of IP integrations in video games and the various touchpoints at which campaigns can be activated. 

Another interesting example is the Indian version of PUBG Mobile’s ongoing collaboration with KFC. There have been several KFC collaborations across the main and mobile versions of the game, but the latest collaboration promoted the opening of new KFC restaurants in India while introducing KFC-themed cosmetics, such as a Colonel Sanders character skin, and giving them away as rewards for participating in an in-game event.  

As strange as it might seem, there’s a natural link between chicken and PUBG as the game’s most iconic catchphrase is ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner,’ which you hear when you place first in a battle royale game. Previous PUBG collaborations even introduced KFC restaurants into the battle royale map, complete with new menu items that could be purchased to recover health in the game. 

At their core, these McDonald’s x miHoYo and KFC x PUBG collaborations are traditional advertising campaigns. But the addition of in-game cosmetic items, limited-time events, and the fusion of in-game and IRL rewards means they have more in common with IP-based live events and crossovers than advertising campaigns.