Arrowhead Game Studios and Helldivers 2 have built a reputation for blending satirical humor with chaotic, cooperative gameplay. The studio has never missed an opportunity to do something cool and the game’s latest blunder proves just how masterfully the devs turn mistakes into in-game propaganda.
We recently got hit by a bug which made the liberation rates in the Galactic War go crazy. The developers had to identify the issue and pause the entire Galactic War for 24 hours. But instead of admitting to any misstep, Super Earth’s High Command has confidently declared that nothing unusual ever happened.
Helldivers 2 bug was just “Illuminate mind influence,” according to Super Earth’s High Command
For players who logged in to Helldivers 2 on February 27, it was certainly a weird day. On Thursday, players noticed something strange. The progress on the Galactic War was moving far too smoothly. Planet liberation rates skyrocketed, giving Super Earth an unnatural advantage in the fight against its enemies.
Arrowhead quickly identified the problem, stating that a backend update had introduced a bug which was what made the liberation rate skyrocket. Arrowhead quickly intervened, pausing the Galactic War entirely while it worked on a fix. The devs also admitted that while the bug was “fun,” it broke the mechanic so a fix was inevitable.
Today we updated our backend and we have encountered an error that is affecting planet liberation rates, causing them to skyrocket. While we know this is fun, we also know that it is breaking the Galactic War mechanic itself.
In short, this is harming the game experience and…
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) February 27, 2025
Here’s the best part about this. Instead of just issuing an apology or a simple announcement, Arrowhead leaned into the game’s dystopian satire. And if you logged in right after this fix, there was a message waiting for you from Super Earth’s High Command. Here it is in full.
High Command would like to inform all personnel that nothing out of the ordinary has happened in the past 24 hours. The fight for Managed Democracy has continued in an inspiring—but entirely expected—manner. Personnel who believe they have experienced or witnessed any sort of anomalous occurrences may be suffering from Illuminate mind influence and should report themselves for psychological screening immediately.
Arrowhead’s response is exactly what makes Helldivers 2 special. The developers of any other live service game would’ve faced backlash for such a mistake. But because of how the developers responded, we turned the situation into an in-game conspiracy. And now, all is well once again.
This is peak community engagement from Arrowhead
The understanding between us and Arrowhead is so seamless that the Helldivers 2 subreddit exploded with jokes and memes about the incident. Even past “controversies” have only added to the game’s popularity. When COO Johan Pilestedt once told players not to buy the game due to server issues, sales increased. And when Sony tried to force us to a mandatory PSN account linking, we protested so hard the decision got reversed.
As for what’s next, the success of Helldivers 2 suggests a bright future for the live-service model, at least if done right. And we know Arrowhead is doing it right. Arrowhead has already teased multiple upcoming updates, and CEO Shams Jorjani has hinted that as long as players continue to engage with the game, support will continue “to hell and back.”
What makes Helldivers 2 so special isn’t even something in the game. It’s the fact that we don’t just fight in the Galactic War, players are completely into the absurd, propaganda-fueled reality. And now, we collectively agree that nothing happened on February 27, 2025.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
