Helldivers 2 is getting its biggest update very soon

The team at Arrowhead Game Studios is working on the biggest Helldivers 2 update yet. On August 6th, the Escalation of Freedom update will offer players new game modes, enemies, mission objectives, and a much more punishing difficulty. In the announcement trailer, chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt and design director Niklas Malmborg went over the details, sharing that they’re planning on bringing back an old enemy from the original Helldivers to terrorize freedom lovers across the galaxy.

The impaler is a large enemy type designed to halt divers’ attempts to esca… err tactical retreats. The update will include a number of new enemy types both terminid and automaton, while remixing existing enemies to give players a new experience. Speaking of experiences, the Helldivers team also shared details on one of the new mission objectives: retrieve the larva. In that mission, divers will be tasked with carrying a screaming terminid larva through enemy territory to reach the extraction point. In addition to the new mission, enemy outposts have been expanded, turning them into massive, more challenging bases for players to capture. Finally, Helldivers 2 will be getting a brand-new difficulty level, combat rating 10, that’s meant to be a significant step up from other difficulties.

Despite the game’s success, player numbers on Steam have seen a bit of a dip since February. Likely, this new content refresh, which the developers say is the first step of many they have planned, will be what the game needs to bring back the masses.