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Helldivers 2's ammo booster was inspired by the director's time in the military where 'it was always possible to stuff an extra magazine in another pocket'
Helldivers 2 game director Johan Pilestedt revealed that the game's ammo boosters were inspired by his time serving in the military. He explained that it is based on the concept of having extra magazines on hand, making it realistic and personal to him. Despite some criticism, the ammo boosters are likely to remain in the game due to their significance to the director.
Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt says the game's ammo boosters were inspired by his time serving in the military.
In response to a complaint from a player claiming "no trained solider of democracy would launch into battle with no ammo," Pilestedt subtly revealed he's spent some time in the army. It's unclear for which country's army he served, but it's fairly safe to assume it was Sweden's, as his career and education - according to Linkedin - have been based in Sweden since at least 2006.
Regardless, Pilestedt explains that the Helldivers 2 booster that gives you full ammo, stims, and grenades out of the Hellpod pays homage to his military service.
"It is inspired by my time in the military, where we had a standard allocation of ammo, but whenever you could get your hands on more it was always possible to stuff an extra magazine in another pocket," Pilestedt says. "It's the difference between 'issued ammo' and 'shoving mags everywhere'."
Honestly, Pilestedt's explanation effectively swayed my opinion from being in agreement with the poster complaining that the ammo boosters betray authenticity, to being fully supportive of them. Not because they're inspired by his military service, but because now that I imagine them as just extra magazines laying around that you just stuff into your pockets before dropping down, they suddenly seem perfectly realistic.
Regardless, now that it's clear ammo boosters are somewhat personal to the director of the game, it seems very unlikely they'll be outright removed despite the admittedly small chorus of naysayers.