Summary
- Helldivers 2 has discreetly received a PS5 Pro upgrade.
- The PS5 Pro performance mode for Helldivers 2 runs at 1440p instead of 1080p on the base PS5.
- PS5 Pro has enough GPU grunt to run Helldivers 2 at native 4K in quality mode, but PSSR upscaling and 120Hz high framerate options are absent.
Arrowhead Game Studios has quietly released a PS5 Pro patch for Helldivers 2. The free upgrade brings with it higher resolutions, improved visuals, and steadier framerates to help Helldivers 2 players spread liberty more effectively on PS5 Pro.
Although Helldivers 2 is regarded by many as an incredibly fun co-op PvE game, its technical presentation has been slightly hit-or-miss for some PS5 players. Performance testing conducted around the game’s launch last year revealed that Helldivers 2‘s PS5 version renders at 1080p in the 60fps performance mode, and is still prone to framerate dips in taxing scenes. The quality mode, meanwhile, runs at a higher 1728p resolution but at the cost of a halved 30fps framerate. Arrowhead did promise a PS5 Pro upgrade for Helldivers 2 last year, but wasn’t able to release it in time for the console’s launch in November 2024.
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Alongside the debut of Helldivers 2‘s latest Servants of Freedom Premium Warbond, Arrowhead has enhanced the co-op shooter for PS5 Pro. Curiously, neither Sony nor Arrowhead made any mention of Helldivers 2‘s PS5 Pro patch, and the game’s PlayStation Store listing still hasn’t been updated with the “PS5 Pro Enhanced” label at the time of writing. Thankfully, Digital Foundry has conducted a thorough analysis of Helldivers 2 running on PS5 Pro, most notably discovering that its 60fps performance mode has been bumped up to 1440p on the newer machine, which means it’s pushing 78% more pixels than the base PS5.
Helldivers 2 PS5 Pro Analysis Reveals Crisper Image Quality and Smoother Framerates than Standard PS5
Oddly, though, Arrowhead has apparently eschewed the PS5 Pro’s PSSR AI-driven upscaler in Helldivers 2, instead going with an old-fashioned TAA solution that doesn’t quite do as great a job. Helldivers 2‘s PS5 Pro version does hold its 60fps framerate better than the base PS5, but drops are still possible in demanding situations. Coming to the quality mode, the PS5 Pro runs Helldivers 2 at native 4K, resulting in far crisper image quality compared to the vanilla PS5’s 1728p resolution. Unfortunately, there is no 120Hz high framerate option for Helldivers 2 on PS5 Pro.
Overall, Helldivers 2 offers considerable improvements for PS5 Pro users, but falls short in some aspects. A very probable reason behind this might be the defunct engine Helldivers 2 is built on, which may not be able to take full advantage of the PS5 Pro’s cutting-edge hardware. Regardless, Helldivers 2 is the latest addition to the long list of PS5 Pro enhanced games, and owners of the beefier mid-generation system can further the cause of democracy at much cleaner resolutions.
- Released
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February 8, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
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Arrowhead Game Studios