Don't swap out your pants just yet, Helldivers 2 might be getting another update next week to coincide with the battle for Super Earth

The Illuminate's warpath, as shown in a trailer for an update to Helldivers 2. — (Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

A long, drawn-out Helldivers 2 ARG culminated in a major update for the game—one which added new Illuminate enemies, weapon customisation, and a looming threat that will inevitably arrive at Super Earth and threaten the foundations of Democracy itself.

I've been having a blast so far, even if the new Stringray unit has been a thing of nightmares (I got caught in between two of them, not my finest moment) but it turns out there may well be more intergalactic ultraviolence just around the corner, per a potential leaked post shared to the Helldivers 2 subreddit.

While it's deleted now, user xTekshi claims that the Czech PlayStation account shared a post heralding the arrival of a "Heart of Democracy" update, coming May 20. Which, as they observe, is when the current major order ends. There's also a fact that the trailer posted yesterday had the following quote in it: "Nothing is safe—not even the Heart of Democracy itself."

Said major order is to slow—but not stop—the Illuminate's advance on Super Earth. As promised during the flurry of announcements that came yesterday, "Battle on Super Earth is inevitable."

Normally, a throwaway post from a social media account wouldn't hold much water with me—wires get crossed all the time—but there is the fact that Helldivers 2 didn't get a subtitle change with this latest patch, which is a break from tradition. We're still technically in the "Omens of Tyranny" era, and I wouldn't call my many deaths at the hands of the crushing Illuminate fleet's firepower an 'omen' as much as a 'happening'.

A comment by Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani on the Helldivers 2 Discord suggests that this is very much on purpose. When one player asked if there was a reason why the "current update didn't get a title", Jorjani simply replied: "Yes." He plays coy in another comment, too—when probed about future game modes and city maps, he responds with a Helldivers-brand shush emoji.

Shams Jorjani hints at another update for Helldivers 2 come May 20. — (Image credit: Helldivers 2 Discord)

Then there's the fact that, well, if we're fighting on Super Earth, it'd just be a plain missed opportunity not to throw a couple more features in there. It's our space-democracy's final bastion of defense, the last of all stands. Arrowhead's surely aware that players'd feel sore and disappointed if they were just jogging around the same maps without a little razzle-dazzle. Something's around the corner, I can feel it in my votes.

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

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