The Helldivers 2 studio hopes to keep the game going forever, even if the developers are eventually forced to move on.
In a recent exchange on the game's official Discord server, Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Studios, was asked a question: Would players in regions where the game is currently unavailable for purchase due to the PSN account-linking controversy ever lose access to Helldivers 2 if they already own it?
Pilestedt says the response was clear - "If you have bought the game - you will be able to play forever." But forever is a long time in game development, and Pilestedt was queried by another player - does he really mean 'forever', or just 'until the servers shut down'?
Acknowledging that that's not entirely within his control, Pilestedt did say that Helldivers 2 would stay online "forever if I get to choose." He even has something of a plan to help that happen, even if Arrowhead was forced to "sunset" development of the game as it moved onto a new project at some point in the future: "We would build automation on the gamemaster and other features."
Currently, Galactic Gamemaster Joel is the one pulling the strings of Helldivers 2's various conflicts. Short of uploading Joel's consciousness into an automaton, however, it seems unlikely that Arrowhead would be able to keep an employee running the game's narrative in perpetuity. Given, however, that Joel's role has been a crucial part of Helldivers 2's success, removing it entirely would feel like removing a hugely important part of the game. With automation helping to manage things like Major Orders, Helldivers 2 could theoretically keep going for a long, long time.
