Helldivers 2 is a harsh game—download it, and you’re at risk of being gibbed by chainsaws, torn apart by Voteless, melted by insectoid dragons, or just blown up by friendly fire. Not one to rest on its laurels, Arrowhead has gone: What if we added “boiled alive in magma” to that list? What if, Arrowhead? I say, nervously, sweating.
Yeah, what if, Arrowhead says, with unbroken eye contact as it hits the “release the magma patch” button.
Released live onto the current servers today—with files likely snuck in over the past few patches—magma worlds are currently in Helldivers 2, with the Automatons fighting tooth, nail, and servo to claim Super Earth’s precious resources.
As seen in the trailer shown below, the magma planets are “too hot for humans, too unstable for farming, too explosive for tourism—yet rich in minerals. Minerals the Automatons steal with every drill. Their unsanctioned mining not only threatens humanity’s expansion, but the very survival of managed democracy itself.”
Meanwhile, in-game, a new Major Order sees players fighting over Fury, K, and Mox: “The metallic Automatons have taken advantage of their artificial forms to seize these lava-covered planets and steal their rich mineral resources from our citizens.” Players will need to liberate the three planets before the week’s end, or risk… uh, children being hurt, somehow, as this official propaganda poster denotes.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)
I’m not entirely sure how mineral resources directly correlate to the death of children, but I’m told by my Democratic Management Officer that it’s “evocative” and it “gets the people going” and to “stop thinking too hard about the message, or it’s the airlock for you”. So I guess I’m all in.
In all seriousness, Helldivers 2 has been having a bit of a rough patch lately. If you’re at all familiar with the it’s so over/we’re so back graph this game oscillates between, then I’ll put it this way: Helldivers 2 hit a couple of “it’s so over” dips in a row, and it’s been causing problems, with crashes and performance woes plaguing the co-op shooter last month. Arrowhead’s been committed to fixing it, though—starting with a beta that slices the game’s install size by a whopping 131GB.
Wishlist feeling a little light? Head to the 2025 PC Gaming Show Most Wanted Steam page to discover the games we and our council of gaming luminaries are most looking forward to, plus other games featured in this year’s show on December 4.
