The originalKillzonewas one of those games that looked really promising in trailers and marketing material, but didn’t really live up to much of its potential. Developed by a little-known Dutch company called Guerrilla Games, this sci-fi FPS was created in partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment and released on the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Since it was exclusive to Sony’s console,Killzonewas touted by many in the press as a “Halokiller” leading up to its release. At the time,Halowas incredibly popular, and the second installment in the series,Halo 2, was scheduled to launch on the original Xbox just a few days afterKillzone’s debut. In the end, only one of the two 2004 games managed to become a cultural icon, and it certainly wasn’tKillzone.
Killzone’s critical reception was relatively mixed, in large part due to its uninspired gameplay and bevy of technical issues. In spite of the problems that many players had with the game, it nonetheless sold over 2 million copies worldwide and eventually spawned an entire franchise.TheKillzoneserieslasted for quite some time, and many of its later installments received far better reviews than the first entry in the franchise. Despite all that,Killzonewasn’t able to toppleHalo. The FPS series ultimately became dormant, following the release of 2013’sKillzone: Shadow Fall. If a newKillzonegame is ever released, as unlikely as that may sound, it should return the favor to the popular PlayStation title,Helldivers 2.
A Hypothetical New Killzone Game Should Return the Favor to Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2, One of the Biggest Games of 2024, Recently Hosted a Killzone 2 Crossover Event
Early last year, Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment releasedHelldivers 2, a PvE third-person shooter that served as an indirect sequel to the 2015 top-down gameHelldivers. This title, which came out simultaneously on PS5 and PC, was one of Sony’s first forays into the live service market, as the company had almost exclusively stuck to publishing singleplayer games in the past.Despite not having a massive marketing budget behind it,Helldivers 2quickly became a breakout hit, selling over 12 million copies in 3 months and having more than 450,000 concurrent players on Steam.
Arrowhead Game Studios has been supportingHelldivers 2consistently withmajor new content updates, some of which have brought new enemies, missions, and difficulty levels to the game. Surprisingly, though, the title has had a near-complete lack of crossover events, something that’s a staple of most live service games. It wasn’t until only recently, in fact, thatHelldivers 2finally hosted its first-ever collaboration event with another franchise.
Back in December, Arrowhead revealed that it was bringingKillzone 2-themed cosmeticsto its hit game as part of a new tier of paid, premium content. The event, which included new armor sets, guns, and capes inspired by Guerrilla’s FPS franchise, was broken up into two phases, the first of which was launched on December 18. Although the reception toward the collaboration itself was mostly positive, many criticized the high prices of theKillzone 2items. To compensate, Arrowhead announced that the second phase of theKillzonecrossover would be made available to allHelldivers 2players on December 19, free of charge.
SinceHelldivers 2had a crossover withKillzone,Killzoneshould get a crossover withHelldivers 2, as well, if the series is ever revived.Some unique cosmetics themed around Super Earth and the Illuminate would fit perfectly in a newKillzonegame, and they’d serve as a great callback toHelldivers 2’s collaboration with the franchise. Sadly, since Guerrilla Games is too busy working on theHorizonseries these days and has shown no interest in bringing back theKillzoneIP, it’s likely that this won’t happen anytime soon.
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In an era of planetary colonization, the Heighast await orders to initiate a massive blitzkrieg on the outlying ISA colony, Vekta. Initiative will be obtained, armies will engage and lives will be lost. Amidst the chaos, a squad of soldiers will become heroes.
