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.