What Helldivers 2 Tell us About Men and Reading

Space Marines Killing Aliens. Yeah, that's a guys dream story.

I’m a fantasy writer who often prefers exploring a character’s inner conflicts over rushing into another dragon-slaying battle. Recently, though, I’ve found myself captivated by Helldivers 2, a game that is a man’s call to arms. The premise is simple, yet awesome. It's space marines dropping from orbit into waves of monstrous enemies, fighting shoulder to shoulder with a squad, and rallying around the satirical cries of “managed democracy.” Beneath the alien killing chaos lies a deeper truth: i.e., men are still hungry for stories of courage and sacrifice, but many of these stories are disappearing from the shelves.

Despite the common narrative men are not disengaged from stories. Quite the opposite... we consume these relentlessly through video games, films, and podcasts, often stepping into the role of protector, the figure who risks everything for the team or the cause. Personally, I gravitate toward long-form, emotionally layered narratives where tension builds toward a powerful resolution rather than nonstop spectacle. Still, I share the same instinct as many others: the urge to imagine myself as the noble warrior, standing firm, shield in hand, against overwhelming odds. This vision of honor, virtue, chivalry, and sacrifice is what I strive to infuse into my own writing.

The Dimensions of Fiction

The problem is not that men have abandoned reading, but that it’s publishing has tilted heavily toward one perspective. With women now comprising around 77% of key roles in publishing and authorship, the industry has developed a feedback loop that often prioritizes themes and tones that resonate more strongly with female readers. Alongside this, the surge of explicit smut in traditionally male-oriented genres has diluted stories that once upheld ideals of loyalty, sacrifice, and duty.

The Arthurian fiction category illustrates this shift perfectly. Where once tales centered on knightly virtue and the weight of honor, many modern retellings have recast these myths into “spicy” romances, emphasizing sensuality over quest and sacrifice. This has sparked rising searches for terms like “fantasy no romance”, a clear indicator that readers—particularly men—are actively seeking stories free of hedonism and focused on tales of becoming.

From Camelot to the Battlefield: Fiction for Men

I have fond memories of late nights reading Le Morte d’Arthur, and losing myself in The Count of Monte Cristo. These works were not free of romance, but it was never the focus. Courtly love underscored themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and redemption. I often imagined myself as a flawed but striving Lancelot, heart pounding as if I too had endured the battles of those knights.

Contrast that with today’s market, where many Arthurian adaptations prioritize romance with the fey over virtue. Or worse encourage the loss of virtue for the vice of pleasure. While such stories certainly have their audience, reducing legends of honor into extended romantic entanglements undermines the very essence that once inspired readers to live by ideals of strength and duty.

Helldivers 2: The Forgotten Heroism Books Should Remember

This is where Helldivers 2 succeeds. Players assume the role of elite soldiers plunging onto hostile worlds filled with robotic hordes and monstrous insects, fighting not for personal glory but for the cause of Super Earth. Beneath its dark humor and exaggerated propaganda lies a compelling archetype: the selfless hero willing to sacrifice everything for the team.

The game resonates because it revives a timeless ideal. It offers desperate last stands reminiscent of epic sieges, camaraderie forged in chaos, and unfiltered heroism untouched by contrived love triangles. It has struck a cultural chord, drawing millions of players weekly and peaking at 163,000 concurrent users earlier this year. Men are not abandoning stories, rather, they are simply finding in other media what genre books increasingly fail to provide: the chance to embody the guardian, the protector, the hero.

What Literature Can Learn From Helldivers

The lesson is clear. While bookstores are crowded with romantasy heavy on sensuality, there remains a large audience eager for tales of sacrifice, honor, and heroism.  Helldivers 2 demonstrates that this appetite is far from extinct. For writers like myself, this is a call to double down on layered narratives rooted in knightly virtues, free of unnecessary distraction.

Look; men are being underserved and it's time that 77% of women in the publishing industry realize that. Or perhaps not, that's more money for us indies to take and—hot take—it won’t be long before we eat our cake and yours too.

If “fantasy no romance” is what you search for, my upcoming series aims to deliver exactly that: heroic sagas that build steadily, tested through fire and loyalty, not diluted by fleeting entanglements.

I'm Izaic Yorks, a retired pro-athlete turned epic fantasy and scifi writer. I create stories in a connected universe that allow readers to escape into character driven narratives where virtue wins and the bad guy is either redeemed or slain. Y