Helldivers 2 players eradicate 2 billion bugs in less than a day, surprising even themselves

A helldiver, obscured by a halo of white light, stands victorious against a Super Earth flag in Helldivers 2. — (Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

Yesterday, Helldivers 2 players were presented with the simple yet daunting task of killing 2 billion Terminids as part of the newest Major Order. Some soldiers voiced concern over getting the task done within a week, but it seems as if they had nothing to worry about.

The notification went through this morning that this monumental task is done and tidied away with more than enough time to spare, as 2 billion bugs were killed in just over 12 hours. While a few people still differ in opinion on whether this Major Order was actually difficult, considering how many people consistently play Helldivers 2, the achievement has still come as a surprise to some.

"I just got a notification saying the major order was already completed," one player says in a Reddit post. "I thought 2 billion would be a lot, especially with a couple of hundred kills per player, maybe only 1000 per mission at the most. But apparently, a lot of people must have played. I was looking forward to being a part of it and helping to kill the equivalent of what is a QUARTER of humans on Earth, but I didn't even get a chance!"

While others simply marvelled at how "Humans can be remarkably efficient at killing given the right tools and incentives." Something of an understatement in this case. 2 billion bugs in 12 hours means Divers were killing 167 million per hour or 2.78 million per minute. Just counting Steam players alone, of which there were over 180,000 concurrent players at the last 24-hour peak, it would boil down to around 15 kills per player every minute for 12 hours straight.

However, there are a few who wonder just how accurate the bug-killing counter was, as some have been making claims of glitches or a faulty counting system. "I've noticed that when I hit stuff with the splash damage from my autocannon, even if a squadmate is the one that finishes it off, it still ticks my kill streak counter," one Reddit user claims. But there's no confirmation that this is actually the case or that there is a problem with the counting system. And despite 2 billion bugs in 12 hours sounding excessive, you probably shouldn't count out the willpower and dedication of Helldivers 2 players in their neverending quest to spread democracy.

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.