Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers have a lot in common. Now the cult film is being released with its own game, which also features the film’s star. He has now spoken out about Helldivers 2.
When Helldivers 2 was a huge success, many eyes suddenly turned to a cult film from the 90s: Starship Troopers.
The parallels between the two worlds are clearly visible. In an exaggerated and satirical manner, it shows how a super-patriotic military force takes up the fight against space insects (and in the case of Helldivers, also against robots).
Helldivers 2 became a kind of “playable Starship Troopers”. However, a separate game based on the film will be released in October: Starship Troopers: Extermination, which was recently available to play in Early Access. You can see the trailer here:
Starship Troopers: Extermination shows fight against bugs in new trailer
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“Johnny Rico” reports on Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers: Extermination
In the film Starship Troopers, “Johnny Rico” was the protagonist, played by Casper Van Dien. In Starship Troopers: Extermination, the actor will now slip back into his role and act as the players’ commander. He guides players through a single-player campaign.
In an interview with the PC Gamer portal, Van Dien spoke about the game, but also about Helldivers 2. In the past, the actor had already praised Helldivers 2, was happy about references and gave it a 10/10 rating, even though he hadn’t played it himself (via PC Gamer). And in the new interview, he also says that he thinks it’s cool to be asked about it again and again.
When asked if Helldivers 2 doesn’t take the wind out of the new game’s sails, he explains: “Every time someone mentions Starship Troopers, I get really excited. I haven’t played Helldivers yet, but it looks cool. Then I saw Starship Troopers: Extermination and I would play that anyway because that’s my world,” says Van Dien.
The new game’s marketing director, Gareth Woods, stressed in the same interview that they see the success of Helldivers 2 as a “win-win situation” for both sides, and that the love players have for the IP and shooting space bugs is clearly evident. The new game could be a way to offer another option here.
Van Dien stressed that he would definitely welcome the Helldivers 2 fans: “They can train as much as they want somewhere else and then come here and help us kill some damn bugs – Yeah!”
When is the game coming out? Starship Troopers: Extermination is currently in Early Access and is available on Steam. Up to 16 players can fight the bugs in co-op. The game is scheduled to be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X | S on October 11, 2024. At that time, the game will also be fully released for PC. The boss behind the game recently explained what’s next for Helldivers 2.