Helldivers 2 is on a tear and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. This week alone has been huge for the massively popular co-op shooter, as the community collectively mourned the loss of a planet they’d fought hard for. With the defeat behind them, Helldivers 2’s zealous player base has its eyes on the battles to come, which will help because the constantly shifting war effort is about to get kicked up a notch after some teases from Arrowhead Game Studio.
As spotted by GamesRadar, an Arrowhead developer took to the official Helldivers 2 Discord recently to provide an answer about pilotable mechs. In short, “Mechs [have] been good to go for a while,” according to the developer.
Mechs, whose arrival many players have anticipated, have been curiously absent despite the fact that one of the enemy factions is made up of killer robots—some of which ride mechs! Some folks have already managed to get their hands on mechs, even though they haven’t officially dropped yet, and they do in fact look pretty good to go. Typically, when players get their hands on unreleased content, it’s a bit rough around the edges, but the mech gameplay that’s leaked looks functionally complete! Per the developer’s Discord message, there’s “additional polishing” to be done, but it seems like mechs will be coming to the game sooner rather than later. I love a shiny new toy.
That isn’t all though. As reported by The Loadout, teases within Helldivers 2’s galactic map have suggested that a faction from the first game will return. No Arrowhead developers have confirmed this news, but in-game broadcasts have name-dropped the faction, known as the Illuminate. After learning this week that a lone developer at the studio is pulling the strings on the ever-shifting story of Helldivers 2 (not unlike a Dungeons and Dragons campaign) and that the studio has further narrative “surprises” planned, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Illuminate pop up similar to how the robot automatons first emerged weeks ago.
Helldivers 2 is rapidly growing, not just in the mainstream and social media, but as its own enthralling world locked in a constantly escalating war. Just keeping track of the ways the game is evolving is compelling enough to make me want to drop everything and experience it for myself. I missed the robot automatons’ surprise attack, for example, but I fully intend to be locked in if we get to take the fight to the Illuminate on our fancy new mechs. For Super Earth!