Helldivers 2 capacity error: ‘Searching for planet’ game crash, explained

Players by the thousands are flocking to Helldivers 2 to take on an assortment of alien and robotic enemies in epic firefights. However, some players aren’t having much luck getting in, with a common “Searching For Planet” error popping up.

It shouldn’t be all that hard for Helldivers 2 to find a planet—after all, planets are huge—but the problem is assuredly not related to something in the game. Instead, there may be a problem with the official servers. Here’s what we know about the “Searching for planet” error in Helldivers 2 and a couple of fixes you can try.

Causes and fixes for the “Searching for planet” error in Helldivers 2

A common cause of the “Searching for planet” error in Helldivers 2 is when servers approach their peak capacity. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios was forced into implementing a player cap of 450,000 in the early weeks of launch to help manage the load on the servers while looking for a more permanent fix.

If the servers remain at capacity, players have noted issues with collecting rewards after missions, the inability to land on planets and start other missions, and general game crashes. The best fix for this issue is to restart Helldivers 2, which has a drawback—you may be put into a queue to enter the game if servers are at capacity.

Most of the time, the issue will be out of your hands. To confirm for sure you aren’t the only person having the problem, be sure to check the official Helldivers 2 X/Twitter account or the Alerts channel in the game’s Discord server, as that is where players will be informed of any issues or complications affecting Helldivers 2.

If server status seems fine and you’re still encountering black screen freezes or the “Searching for planet” error, reinstall Helldivers 2 to ensure you don’t have corrupt files.