While it maybe doesn’t make as many headlines as it once did, Helldivers 2 is still doing very well for Sony. It typically peaks at over 30k concurrent players on Steam every day, plus however many are on PlayStation. But now, it has tripled those numbers.
Just a few hours ago, Helldivers 2 broke 100k concurrent players for the first time since December 2024, although it did get close earlier this year in February.
The reason for this surge in popularity is that the game just declared a galactic emergency. Why? A massive Illuminate fleet has appeared, threatening Super Earth. I could be wrong, but that seems like it might be a bad thing.
Attention, Helldivers: This is a Galactic Emergency,” said a post on the Helldivers 2 Twitter account. “The true Illuminate invasion has begun. In a sudden and completely unprovoked offensive manoeuvre, the full Illuminate fleet is emerging from the Meridia Singularity. Nothing is safe – not even the Heart of Democracy itself.”
Players have been battling the Illuminate now for a while, including taking part in an augmented reality game on Discord, but their efforts have seemingly been for nothing as the squid have begun pouring through a wormhole.
As part of the emergency, Helldivers are getting a bunch of changes, updates and additions. Several new Illuminate are set to enter the fray, including the flying Stingray. The weirdest are Fleshmobs, a sort of Frankenstein’s monster that staggers across the battlefield.
In a blog post, there was also mentions of “sightings of other, even larger ships,”. What new threats might they bring? Although, of course, the biggest threat in Helldivers 2 continues to be other players and their over eagerness to blow everything up.
To help deal with the new threats, players are getting a weapon customisation system. Guns can now be levelled up by completing missions, which then unlocks attachments and patterns you can buy and equip using requisition.
The in-game store is also being expanded so that instead of items cycling, you’ll now be able to buy whatever you want whenever you want it.
Finally, in a few days (May 15) the new Warbond (season pass) will be released, bringing with it news weapons and armour. That should be useful for decimating some Illuminate.
All this does make me want to pick up a controller again and go defend Super Earth. I haven’t touched the game since a few months after it launched, but I keep planning on returning at somepoint.