Why is Helldivers 2 Xbox petition trending?

Helldivers 2 Xbox petition has recently been trending on social media platforms, mostly on X, that is. However, for anyone outside the Xbox/ PlayStation console sphere, it can be a bit jarring to see Helldivers 2, which is a PlayStation-exclusive game, and Xbox within the same sentence, for obvious reasons.

For the uninitiated, the Helldivers 2 Xbox petition is basically a Change.org initiative by some fans who want to see PlayStation's latest looter-shooter appear on Xbox Series consoles. The petition was initially posted on Change.org by Isaiah Hardin, as a way to try and get Sony to call off the exclusivity deal.

That said, the Helldivers 2 Xbox petition eventually blew up, making rounds of social media platforms, including X and Reddit. Here's everything you need to know about the Helldivers 2 Xbox petition and whether it has the slightest chance of bringing the PlayStation exclusive to Xbox's ecosystem.

Note: Aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the author's opinions.

---

What is the Helldivers 2 Xbox petition about?

The Helldivers 2 Xbox petition is essentially a way for some fans to revolt against PlayStation locking one of this year's most popular and successful co-op shooter games behind its own ecosystem. While Helldivers 2 did see a simultaneous release on PS5 and PC (a first in PlayStation history, mind you), it still skipped out on Xbox for obvious reasons.

At the time of writing this article, the petition has reached 60,211 signatures, with the next goal being 75,000. The petition possesses a rather emotional tone, which does tug at some heartstrings, especially if you're someone who used to enjoy games like Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3 ODST, and their co-op and multiplayer game modes.

At its core, Helldivers 2 feels like one of those old-school co-op shooters akin to games like Halo and Gears of War, i.e., the staples of Xbox. However, with modern Halo facing an identity crisis among the sea of other multiplayer shooters and Gears of War being on an indefinite hiatus, Xbox is very much missing those amazing co-op experiences of old.

With Xbox recently announcing some of its first-party exclusives making the jump to Nintendo and PlayStation, the Helldivers 2 Xbox petition does make sense, at least logically. However, logistically, and taking into account how PlayStation views its exclusive line-up of games, there's very little, if at all, chance of Helldivers 2 arriving on rival platforms.

PlayStation did open up a bit, making its games more accessible to a wider player base by bringing some of its flagship IPs to PC. However, it's still a far cry from what Xbox has been doing for a long time, i.e., unifying its console and PC ecosystems, at the cost of retaining almost no true console-exclusive titles.

While exclusivity isn't something that players have ever been fond of, it's still something that does help drive console sales; take a look at Nintendo, for that matter.