Many Helldivers 2 players love spreading democracy as Super Earth’s brave soldiers, killing any bug, bot, or squid that comes in the way. Even if you just load up Helldivers 2, the initial cinematic will convince you that Super Earth is brainwashing its citizens into believing that they are the good ones but, unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Many players refuse to believe this fact, however, Johan Pilestedt, the former CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, has confessed that players have been fighting for the evil side all this time. The game is so good at spreading Super Earth’s fascist propaganda that even the United Nations had to approach Arrowhead to talk about psychological defense against manipulation.
United Nations approached Arrowhead Game Studios to discuss the contents of Helldivers 2
Johan Pilestedt, who is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Arrowhead Game Studios, recently appeared at the 2025 Game Developers Conference and talked about the studio’s highly popular game, Helldivers 2. During the conversation, Pilestedt revealed that the United Nations approached the studio to discuss the contents of the game (via PCGamer),
Actually, we got a message from the UN asking if we want to talk, in some form, about psychological defense against manipulation – We do it all in fun and good spirits, and we actually try to get people to recognize the science of what is a totalitarian state. If you start wearing the same uniform as everybody else and do salutes constantly, you might be in a totalitarian regime.
It is no secret that Helldivers 2 is a satire on imperialism and fascism, but it seems like it has been getting quite serious around the world since the UN got involved. Helldivers 2‘s intriguing lore, particularly Super Earth’s fascist propaganda, is one of the main reasons behind the game’s success as players love to roleplay as clueless, brainwashed soldiers.
Pilestedt has confirmed that Helldivers 2 is a game that puts players in the shoes of the evil side grunts of pop culture, so yes, all those theories about Super Earth exploiting the enemy factions are true.
Is Helldivers 2 brainwashing players into becoming fascists?
Shortly after Pilestedt’s statement went viral, a lot of people concluded that the game was trying to brainwash players into becoming fascists, however, Pilestedt explained that the game allows players “to be cautious of it” in real life.
Lol, always the ragebaiter.
The other way around. Role-playing something gives you the tools to be cautious of it in the real world.
Not tricking anyone, just fun to play the part of “the baddies”.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) March 19, 2025
In a follow-up post, Pilestedt added that the game exists for those who love the game, so those “who don’t like it – don’t have to play it.” At the same event, Pilestedt made some bold statements about game design, claiming that balancing a game takes away the fun.
At one point, Helldivers 2 lost most of its fan base because the game was quite unbalanced. The studio eventually had to undo all the damage it had done with unnecessary nerfs. The game has once again managed to become one of the most popular co-op games in the world, but Arrowhead must continue listening to the fans if it wishes to keep the game’s hype alive.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
