Helldivers 2 composer almost gave up on orchestral scores before its monumental success

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This from a veteran of many other games.

A Helldiver charges through the fire and flames in Helldivers 2.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

Prior to the release of Helldivers 2, soundtrack composer Wilbert Roget was considering moving on from writing orchestral music for games, he recently posted. The overwhelming community response to the soundtrack, however, has renewed his faith in orchestral composition for games.

"Before Helldivers 2 came out I considered moving on from writing orchestral game music—it seemed like players were getting tired of it, it's absurdly difficult, time-consuming and expensive to produce, and I wanted to try new things", said Roget.

"So imagine my shock at how enthusiastically players responded to HD2's score! From music-reaction vids to covers (even a full metal album?!), I'd never been more encouraged by listeners. For a traditionally-orchestral score, what I thought was impossible came true," he continued.

"And so apropos of Thanksgiving, I'm profoundly grateful for the players, musicians and @ArrowheadGS devs for restoring my hope & passion for orchestral scoring. Award shows rightly have unique tastes, but knowing we’ve reached so many people is the greatest reward possible!" concluded Roget.

Roget's post came in response to Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt, who noted that he thought it was silly that the soundtrack hadn't been nominated for any awards.

Roget's post naturally inspired a whole new round of fans appreciating, and commenting on, the work he'd done on the soundtrack.

Roget is a veteran composer, who has previously done work on Call of Duty: World War 2, Mortal Kombats 1 and 11, Pacific Drive, and Star Wars: Outlaws. He's also a TV composer who most recently worked on Netflix series Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance.

As a bonus, earlier this year Roget actually shared an image of his very first concept sketch for Helldivers 2's main theme, "A Cup of Liber-Tea." At the time, he noted that it was much more aggressive and chaotic than the final version. I think we're all glad he kept at it.

Jonathan Bolding
Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.