Helldivers 2 is getting a film adaptation, even though Starship Troopers already exists

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

A Helldivers 2 film adaptation is in production, Sony announced at CES 2025 today. The collaboration between Sony Productions and Sony Pictures doesn't have a release window or any other confirmed details, other than the fact that it's happening. PlayStation Productions head Asad Qizilbash made the announcement during Sony's CES press conference.

And because what better thing to announce at a major consumer tech-oriented convention than film adaptations, a Ghost of Tsushima anime was also revealed. Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini announced this one during the same conference. It'll be directed by Takanobu Mizuno (Star Wars: Visions) and produced by animation company Kamikaze Douga (Batman Ninja). That won't come out until 2027.

The elephant in the room is that Helldivers 2 is already basically a videogame take on Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, which is a great film whether you're genius enough to detect that it's satire or not. The 1997 sci-fi was based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein and follows the travails of some United Citizen Federation recruits as they annihilate droves of Arachnids. It was pretty divisive at the time for its seeming endorsement of fascism and its gratuitous ultraviolence, but that perception has shifted pretty dramatically since.

I'm not saying a Helldivers 2 film can't stand on its own—it appeals to me more than, say, a Ghost of Tsushima anime—but it'll be interesting to see, I guess, if it can manage to be more than a retread.

Helldivers 2 was our favourite multiplayer game of 2024, and to be honest, it's probably got more potential for a film adaptation than any of the competition (especially Borderlands, which is a similarly "funny" co-op shooter). It joins an alarmingly long list of forthcoming game-to-film adaptations, which includes stuff like Minecraft starring Jack Black, Mortal Kombat 2 starring Karl Urban, and lots more besides including Angry Birds 3, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, and much more.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.