Helldivers 2 Players Hilariously Catch Game Director Lying
In case you haven't already heard: Arrowhead Games' CEO is lying to your face (but in a fun way). "Helldivers 2" is built on a massive pile of lies. And bugs guts. There's plenty of those, too. Arrowhead has taken a unique approach to interacting with its fans, and CEO/creative director Johan Pilestedt has been leading the charge. To a certain extent, the developer has been treating its fanbase as a genuine part of the team. When players were getting kicked from games by toxic hosts, Pilestedt asked fans for help with the issue. When the game ran into early server issues, Pilestedt told people not to buy "Helldivers 2" until the problem was fixed. At other times, though, Pilestedt has been a bit more playful with the game's fans.
I've heard rumors of flying bugs in @helldivers2. I want to officially refute such preposterous claims.
Everyone knows that "Bugs can't fly".
And I'm not alone in thinking this. The Ministry of Truth agrees that this is propaganda from bug sympathizers that want to brainwash...
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) March 12, 2024
Players have been spotting flying bugs and mysterious blue laser beams throughout the galaxy, and they're slowly figuring out that new enemies are emerging in "Helldivers 2." On social media, Pilestedt firmly denies that anything is going on. He's labeled anyone who says otherwise a bug sympathizer, nicely mirroring the satirical propaganda in the game. No upstanding Super Earth citizen wants to be associated with the Terminids, but we're going to all have to admit that the sympathizers just scored a major point, because we now have incontrovertible evidence.
The Ministry of Lies
The flying bugs were the first mysterious enemies sighted in "Helldivers 2," but even as more and more reports of their existence came rolling in, we couldn't be sure they were real. Before fans could properly dig into the rumor, new reports of blue lasers in the sky came in, and fans of the original "Helldivers" perked up. Blue lasers were exactly what Illuminate snipers fired in the first game, but that faction had been absent from the sequel up until now.
Blue beams aren't real, it can't hurt you.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) March 15, 2024
Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt made his stance on the blue lasers clear. For a brief moment, we thought his denial was the closest thing to proof we were going to get. Then, an expert photographer turned in a piece of evidence from the field.
We can now see flying bugs and a blue laser in the same shot, which means we can start preparing for the next phase of the war. The so-called Ministry of Truth has never looked so suspiciously off the mark, but Johan Pilestedt had a hilarious response to the snapshot.
The next front is coming
Official "Helldivers 2" channels have called everyone's attention to the latest report from the field. Pilestedt is still pushing back on the claims, but when all he can write in response is a defiant "Nooo.....," you just know that the battle is lost.
It's all real, but what does that really mean? Clearly the Illuminate are seeding their forces throughout the galaxy, so players need to prepare for a new faction to arrive. The flying Terminids are an indication that the bugs are evolving, and they might soon become more dangerous than ever. It means that the war in "Helldivers 2" could change dramatically in the near future, and it reminds players that even though the new game shine has worn off a little, there are still plenty of surprises left in the game.
Arrowhead has made chasing down these rumors a blast for the entire "Helldivers" community. The developer has previously had to apologize for getting a little too casual in its interactions with fans, but now it seems to have found the right balance. Meanwhile, Pilestedt has given the players and the developers a common enemy — again, in a fun way! — by playing coy like this. He's also taken the heat off the Game Master controlling "Helldivers 2", but that's a whole other conversation.