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Helldivers 2 players vote on which planet to fire our shiny new laser beam at, channelling Star Wars in a democratic move that couldn't possibly go wrong

News
By Scott McCrae published 16 January 2026

Bugs, bots, or squids. You decide.

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Two Helldivers pull a classic fart gag
(Image credit: Arrowhead)
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Helldivers 2 players can vote on which planet Super Earth will test out its newest weapon on, which is eerily similar to a big planet-exploding laser from some old movie I watched once.

Last week, the government of Super Earth announced that it was working to convert the Democracy Space Station into a "macro-scale laser, capable of generating a high-yield beam optimized for mass Freedom dispensation." And in the week since the space station has been equipped with the Star of Peace, which is "a Dark Fluid-powered high-yield weapon capable of collapsing an entire planet into a black hole." And now, in the name of democracy, the government is asking the Helldivers to decide which planet it should be aimed at.

Helldivers are asked to access the "Democracy Space Station voting panel from the Galactic Map" and select which planet should be targeted. The options are Zagon Prime (held by the Terminids), Penta (held by the Automatons), and Valmox (held by the Illuminate). The catch is that a planet adjacent to the main planet must be held by Super Earth by the time of firing, or else the second choice will be targeted instead.

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The fine print explains "Immediate testing of the Star of Peace will commence when voting closes, liberating the nominated planet permanently" and that "The Ministry of Defense is not responsible for the loss of Helldivers liberating tyranny on the chosen planet at the time of testing."

However, as an outsider to Super Earth, I don't think this is going to go well. In the completion post, the post noted "Dark Fluid reserves are below recommended levels. But concerns of facility damage and personnel loss cannot be allowed to stand in the way of peace." Couple that with Super Earth deciding to target a planet with a "test fire" and the fact Illuminate structures were seen in the first announcement video – and to break the fourth wall, Arrowhead's studio CEO teased "a lot of Helldivers will die" in the next major event – I don't have the highest hopes it will go well.

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Scott McCrae
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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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