A Massive Video Game Success, But With So Much Money Left On The Table
Helldivers 2 is a positioning strategy example worth considering, because the video game is an extraordinary success by critical and commercial measures, but one with some missed opportunities people in other industries can learn from. The developer of the game, Arrowhead, is leaving revenue on the table due to its underinvestment in marketing and positioning strategy.
Generally speaking, Arrowhead’s early successes with marketing for Helldivers 2 were not initiated from inside the studio. In other words, the majority of the “marketing” out there for Helldivers 2 is mostly word of mouth recommendations by consumers, along with many glowing reviews from journalists and an endless torrent of fan videos and memes celebrating the game.
While this approach initially worked quite well for Arrowhead, it didn’t take long for its underinvestment in marketing to have unintended consequences as it updated the game. If you weren’t aware, Arrowhead’s core business model for Helldivers 2 requires the studio to make ongoing changes to the game it can then sell to existing players. This requires good marketing.
Yet, Arrowhead has reliably struggled to explain to its customers why the ongoing changes it makes to Helldivers 2 improve the quality of the product, and are thus worth buying. This marketing failure has, unsurprisingly, frustrated consumers, and curtailed their spending. Again, the game is still successful notwithstanding these issues, but there is also lots of cash being left on the table by Arrowhead. I’d estimate to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Arrowhead itself seems to recognize this, as it has invested more in key marketing hires.
I will share a positioning strategy example of how Arrowhead probably should think about using its new marketing resources to further accelerate Helldivers 2’s success. The mistakes Arrowhead made are not unique to the video game industry; they are quite common marketing challenges. It can be hard for any brand to identify and explain why its product matters to consumers. Therefore, I think most of us can learn something from Helldivers 2.
Positioning Strategy Example:
Drivers Vs. Antes
I know that market research can seem mysterious to the layperson, and that’s why I like talking about antes and drivers when it comes to the basics of positioning strategy. “Antes” and “Drivers” are concepts that go by many names, but the underlying idea is tangible and simple.
An “ante” is something consumers may commonly demand in a product, but will not, by itself, make them purchase the thing. “Antes” are things you are expected to include in order to have your product compete in the marketplace, like an “ante” in poker. For Helldivers 2, one good example of an “ante” are a variety of in-game weapons to shoot things with. This is an “ante” because consumers expect guns in third-person shooters like Helldivers 2. Many would likely complain if it lacked them, but are unlikely to buy the game just because it has many guns. Most shooters have multiple guns in them. While expected, this isn’t something at all unique.
A “driver” is something that all by itself can “drive” a consumer to buy one product instead of its peers. Drivers are tricky to determine. After all, we don’t always know why we make the decisions we do, and often rationalize post hoc. Furthermore, depending on my emotional needs at the point of purchase, my drivers are likely to differ. If I was out walking, and I saw some local scouts selling cookies, and I wanted to support them, but I’m feeling over budget on snacks this month, I’m only going to buy the cheapest offerings. But if I am on that same walk, but ravenously hungry, I might buy the nearest cookies, with no concern for price. My emotional desires at the very moment and longstanding values will tend to shape my drivers.
Any positioning strategy thus needs to account for antes and drivers. Obviously, different consumers will care about different antes and drivers. But, generally, most consumers are quick to demand more and more “antes,” and sometimes imagine that “antes” are why they buy products. Sufficiently compelling “drivers” will make the right consumer forgive the absence of many “antes.” But if you don’t have sufficient drivers, no amount of “antes” will make consumers buy your product. Consumers don’t care if a game or cookie has every feature if it doesn’t uniquely satisfy them. They care about drivers, not antes. Needless to say, as products innovate, yesterday’s driver can eventually become today’s ante. Innovation is the norm.
So, what are Helldivers 2 antes and drivers? What makes the game stand out? Answering this question is key if Arrowhead wants to become a successful positioning strategy example.
Helldivers 2 Current Positioning Strategy
Let’s examine how Arrowhead describes Helldivers 2 on its Steam page.
The first sentence starts by noting it’s a cooperative game, and it’s a third-person shooter. These are the basic antes that the marketing promises. The game will incentivize players to work together with other players against a shared problem with some third-person shooting mechanics. None of this is unique to Helldivers 2. There are other cooperative third-person shooting games: you could as easily describe Sea of Thieves in this way as you could a game like Helldivers 2. Despite the fact one game has you play as a sci-fi footsoldier, and the other a pirate on the seas. What we’ve looked at so far, therefore, tells us nothing remotely special about Helldivers 2. This positioning is nearly as bad as trying to position a luxury car by saying that it has four wheels.
This is why that first sentence ends by trying to pick out what makes Helldivers 2 unique. It mentions how you will play as a “Helldiver,” a member of an “elite force” in an “intergalactic struggle” against “aliens.” Again, there’s a lot of games where you play as a specialized soldier in an intergalactic war against aliens; this does not sound unique in the current games market. It is unique to be a “Helldiver” I guess, but what that means is left to your imagination. Something about this description is supposed to be the driver, but it reads like more antes. The rest of the developer description is a detailed account of the co-op and third-person shooting. If all you knew about Helldivers 2 was this description, you’d be forgiven for doubting its appeal. The game seemingly lacks any drivers, because the developers are only marketing forgettable antes.
Positioning Strategy Example:
What’s Unique About Helldivers 2?
If you start researching Helldivers 2, you’ll find many interviews that mention how, from the start, the game was inspired by cooperative RPG wargames like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). In the words of Helldivers 2’s Game Director, Mikael Eriksson:
“From the get-go — with the Galactic War and the game master and how we build the game in general with a systemic approach — we wanted to emulate a tabletop role-playing kind of experience [like D&D]. There’s a bunch of ways the story that you’re playing can turn out, and there’s randomness factored in alongside the choices of the people you’re playing with. That sort of emergent storytelling is something we think is super fun, and it’s what we want to do with the war and the game master.”
This RPG-style wargame is what I think is Helldivers 2 key driver. Marketing only hints at this driver, however, despite it defining your experience as soon whenever you enter the game.
When players load into the game, they can only choose where they want to play by interacting with a map, where you see where all other players are fighting against enemies and vice-versa. On a weekly basis the playerbase will be given “Major Orders” in the “Galactic War”
by their fictional military command. In the real world, this is all crafted by one “Gamemaster” named “Joel,” who acts in a role that takes direct inspiration from “Dungeonmasters” in D&D. “Joel” both dictates where the in-game enemies attack, and theoretically where players should too.“Joel” crafts “Major Orders” so that the playerbase feels motivated to keep playing the game.
Players are free to ignore Joel, but most don’t. The developers have revealed that more than half the playerbase engages the Major Orders. A memorable example of this dynamic was when the playerbase (again this is tens of thousands of people) was given a collective choice between securing one of two locations. One location rewarded players with a new in-game tool, antitank mines. The other offered only a story: saving the fictional lives of “very sick young children.” You could either get stuff for the shooter gameplay, or roleplay, just for its own sake. Or again, you could ignore all this stuff entirely and simply fight your favorite faction wherever.
The playerbase of this third-person shooter decided that roleplaying as Helldivers who saved fictional sick children was worth prioritizing over unlocking stuff for combat gameplay. This is kind of nuts if you think of this game as only a generic, cooperative third-person shooter. Storytelling is not its own reward for people who are just looking to shoot some things together.
What’s really fascinating about this positioning strategy example to me is that Arrowhead did not expect this result. Yes, they may have always designed the game to play as an RPG-style wargame. Yes, they pay “Joel” to make sure the Galactic War offers a dynamic roleplaying wargame. And yet, Arrowhead didn’t expect players to deprioritize unlocking stuff for the cooperative third-person shooter gameplay. They didn’t think the RPG stuff mattered to players.
When I consider this, it makes me suspect the RPG style wargame is Helldivers 2’s driver. It would explain why more than half the playerbase prioritizes RPG wargame stuff. It’s the primary way that the game stays fresh on an ongoing basis, which makes it essential to Arrowhead’s ability to entice players to continually purchase more stuff in game. And if you are like me, you are wondering why Arrowhead hasn’t been marketing the RPG stuff! Arrowhead is not afraid of marketing the game in a way that may make it seem niche: this is, after all, a studio who operates on the slogan, “a game for everyone is a game for no-one.” If this is Arrowhead’s courageous and wise attitude, why did they hide Helldivers 2’s RPG qualities in their marketing?
Why Wasn’t Helldiver 2’s Positioned as an RPG Style Wargame?
We already know that Arrowhead was a bit underinvested in marketing, and that could go a long way towards explaining why they didn’t fully take advantage of Helldivers 2’s driver.
Perhaps for that reason, Arrowhead wrongly thought they shouldn’t position this game as an RPG. Because in the contemporary video game market, the first thing that comes to mind for most consumers when they hear of an RPG is going to be something like Baldur’s Gate 3, the popular D&D video game adaptation. That’s a game that’s all about the player character you control. You can chat up NPCs, do quests, level up, loot, explore, all that classic RPG stuff.
But Helldivers 2 is not an RPG like Baldur’s Gate 3, so can you call it an RPG? You wouldn’t want to mislead consumers about your product, after all. Yes, yes, I concede all that. .
The thing is, there are lots of kinds of RPGs and consumers are well aware of this! Some RPGs focus on combat, or wargaming, others tell horror stories, and stories in other genres. It’s not that it isn’t accurate to call Helldivers 2 an RPG, it’s just that it’s a particular kind of RPG. One where there’s a strong emphasis on a wargame, not so much an individual player character. Players control individual units in skirmishes, yes, but it’s all about the ongoing story of a war. And rather than turn-based or top-down combat, Helldivers 2 is a real-time third-person shooter. As long as Arrowhead markets these qualities, they can also fairly market it as an RPG.
So, it seems rather unwise that Arrowhead hasn’t positioned this game as an RPG at all.
Helldivers 2 is undeniably a wargame style RPG, and its position strategy should reflect that. Existing consumers already act like this is the game’s driver. . But new consumers, who would enjoy this driver too wouldn’t know this game would satisfy them if they were to judge by Arrowhead’s marketing. Arrowhead should own what makes Helldivers 2 unique. They designed the game as a cooperative third-person shooter and RPG-style wargame. So, that’s also how it should position the game. This positioning reflects the driver that makes the game special, and antes consumers can expect, too.
This kind of positioning strategy would not mislead consumers about Helldivers 2, and it would do a much better job of marketing the driver to the audiences who would pay to play it.
Positioning Strategy Example: What Does This Mean For Your Brand?
What I find compelling about this positioning strategy example is how Arrowhead had a unique vision for Helldivers 2 they implemented, which they somehow thought also wouldn’t matter to the playerbase. They focused on perfecting a driver from the very start that they then neglected to advertise whatsoever. At some level, Arrowhead knew what the driver for its game was, but couldn’t articulate it in the way that they positioned the game to the market. Identifying the antes and drivers that make for a good positioning strategy is not an easy task. Even if you set out with a vision for what would make your own product special to begin with.
At Insight To Action, helping brands develop a positioning strategy is one of our key drivers. And if you’re looking to learn more you can read more examples in our Positioning Strategy Resources, or get to know our experts at an Open Office Hours event.
