Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead made an impassioned commitment in late spring this year to be better for irritated players. Like an estranged spouse who comes limping back, the developer promised to not just make promises this time – there would be frequent check-ins, community-informed updates, and other attempts to rebuild trust with its increasingly skeptical playerbase. So far, Arrowhead has stuck to its vows, and therefore it was easy for it to let fans know on June 23 that the next Warbond would be delayed indefinitely.
Leaks earlier this week had Helldivers 2 fans split on its summer Warbond, which was first revealed by a roadmap Arrowhead released in March. Some players were hesitant to judge what amounted to an unreleased battle pass as explained by Reddit screenshots, while others were comfortable declaring the leak "the worst warbond of helldivers," as one player wrote in a Reddit thread discussing the content of the leak.
The player says in the thread, "I'm shocked by the leaks, I thought they were fake, but apparently they're real, and it's horrible. Arrowhead hasn't learned anything."
Another player responds, "Get as angry as you want once the stuff is actually out please."
Arrowhead seems to have noticed the commotion in its community, so it issued that June 23 statement in both the Helldivers 2 official Discord and Twitter, explaining, "The last Warbond listed on the roadmap for June needs more time to cook. We would rather hold back and make sure the final product is something we're proud to release and you're excited to unlock."
The developer continues, "We will provide more information as it nears completion, and we appreciate your patience and your feedback about our latest update!"
Fans are guessing Arrowhead is scrambling to fill an empty Warbond after releasing a Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV) – here's how to get the Helldivers 2 FRV, by the way – as a stratagem rather than as part of its next battlepass. To me, that feels like part of the story, but possibly not all of it. I'd consider Arrowhead's delay statement neither confirmation nor denial of the Warbond leak's contents – it seems Arrowhead is primarily on mitigation duty after a preview of its next Warbond inspired civil unrest instead of a fireworks celebration.
And it seems to be going well, so far. Many Helldivers 2 fans seem glad Arrowhead is sticking to its spousal declarations of honesty, so they aren't disturbed by the next Warbond's delay if it means more chatting with devs.
"Thank you for the transparency!" one popular fan reaction on Twitter says. "We love when you COOK!"
"Fuck my life," another person says. Ultimately, whether you're on Super Earth or only the regular Earth, you can't win everyone over.
