Helldivers 2’s latest campaign calls for Super Earth’s finest to aid in the construction of a “Celestial Fence” to keep out the ongoing Terminid menace.
It’s up to the Helldivers community to help deploy what Super Earth Command has billed as a “flawless, updated, and entirely safe Terminid Control System wall” that will “permanently quarantine” the “fascist” Terminids. The Helldivers are tasked with defending construction sites, gathering necessary resources for the campaign, and holding the line against the Terminids to “guarantee eternal planetary security.”
Should the Helldivers succeed, players will be awarded with a “morale boosting freedom incentive, the R-4 Hyena Marksmen rifle.
This follows a previous successful campaign against the Illuminate’s Voteless hordes, which Super Earth Command has informed players have now been sent to “humanitarian processing facilities.”
Considering Super Earth’s last attempt to deploy Termicide resulted in a mutant strain of new, even deadlier Terminids and a subsequent order to shut down all the Terminid Control System towers players had just helped build, it remains to be seen how effective this new “flawless” solution will be.
One in 2026 does not issue an order to build a wall without intentionally echoing the campaign promises of current US President Donald Trump for a border wall between the US and Mexico. Developer Arrowhead Studios, which is based in Sweden, knows this.
Arrowhead has always worn its Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers-inspired brand of satire on its sleeve when it comes to Helldivers 2. Whether it’s invading desert-like Terminid planets for what is essentially their oil or battling against “communist” cyborgs, Helldivers 2 has always leaned into the farce that is Super Earth’s authoritarian government for comedic effect. Under the facade of “Managed Democracy,” Super Earth sends millions of soldiers to their deaths in pointless, preventable wars that are often the result of Super Earth’s own disastrous policies.
It’s not exactly subtle. Helldivers 2 is clearly tongue-firmly-in-cheek satire, but much like Verhoeven’s 1997 sci-fi classic, that hasn’t stopped some from missing the point entirely. A US Marines anniversary celebration from last October saw one member of the armed forces walk out to Helldivers 2’s iconic music and even repeat lines verbatim from the game’s opening cinematic, asking the audience if they had the “strength and the courage to be free” and to join the Marines.
Whether players will succeed in stopping the Terminids (not likely) with the new Terminid Control System remains to be seen, but Arrowhead will no doubt continue laying on the satire thick, regardless of if players are in on the joke.
Helldivers 2’s previous campaign brought a much-welcome update to Arrowhead’s shooter, including the ability to reload while diving and major buffs to orbital stratagems and vehicles. Arrowhead recently announced it has delayed its June Warbond, stating it needs “more time to cook.” A Warhammer 40K and Helldivers 2 crossover is still slated for later this year.
