Helldivers 2, perhaps the biggest and most successful new live-service of 2024, has recently unleashed some crossover content related to the now-defunctKillzonefranchise. Although thisKillzonecontent has drawn the ire of manyHelldivers 2fans, specifically due to how it’s been monetized, it is nevertheless an interesting revival of a once-beloved IP, and could potentially lead to bigger things down the line.
Killzoneonce sat comfortably among PlayStation’s prestigious first-party IP. Before the days of neo-God of Waror evenThe Last of Us,Killzonewas released as something of a response to the likes ofHalo: a story-driven, lore-rich single-player FPS with multiplayer options. Taking place centuries in the future, the franchise follows humanity’s conflict with the Helghast, an extraterrestrial civilization. Its final entry,Killzone Shadow Fall,arrived alongside the PS4 in 2013, and is now thought of as a serviceable, but ultimately forgettable, finale. Nevertheless, there is certainly an audience for more single-player FPS games on PlayStation, and Sony should consider revivingKillzonefor such a purpose.
Killzone’s developer,Guerilla Games, would go on to createHorizon Zero Dawnand its sequel—games that have arguably enjoyed much more critical and commercial success thanKillzone.
Helldivers 2’s Killzone Crossover Should Reignite Interest in the Franchise
Killzone Was a Key Part of Sony’s Portfolio
Looking at franchises likeKillzonein 2024, they start to look like relics of the past: once-treasured leaders in the industry that are now little more than reminders of forgotten trends. It might be harsh, but there’s some truth to this sentiment, asKillzonewas, at the end of the day,designed to compete withHaloandCall of Duty. Certainly, the creative minds behind the series had a clear passion for it, but it would be hard to deny a major motivation behind its production: to get Sony its own “Halokiller.”
Whether it lived up to that moniker is certainly debatable, but during its time in PlayStation’s first-party lineup,Killzonewas something special. Strong gunplay and encounter design was buttressed by stellar art design and atmosphere, and the series' world-building, while perhaps not reinventing the wheel, was consistently engaging. It, along withResistance, now serve as reminders of a bygone era, when story-driven first-person shooters were at the forefront of the gaming market, and while it’s nice to reminisce, these types of games don’t need to be just memories forever.
Killzone Deserves a Revival
As highlighted by the enduring legacy of games likeTitanfall 2, not to mention even older FPS masterpieces like those of the originalHalotrilogy, there’s still interest in mature, sci-fi-flavored shooters with well-written single-player campaigns.Helldivers 2’s memorializing ofKillzonemay just be a convenient way to show respect for an older franchise while churning out seasonal live-service content, but it’s also indicative ofKillzone’s lingering impact on the industry, and especially PlayStation.
Maybe, with a new generation of gamerslearning about the likes of Killzone andResistancethrough such crossovers, there could be an incentive to bring the IP back into the limelight. Like any industry, the world of gaming is defined by trends that come and go, and the blockbuster-style shooter—without the now-omnipresent staples of the live-service model—is a trend that deserves to come back.
Killzonewas also memorialized in this year’sAstro Bot, and while that cameo, much like theHellzonecrossover, is likely just a celebration of PlayStation history, such celebration should lead to something greater. EvenGod of Warwas dormant for several years before its 2018 revival, and now it’s once again at the center of PlayStation’s first-party strategy. With the right drive and talent, maybe the same can be said aboutKillzonein a few years.
