Tens of thousands salute Helldivers 2 player who passed away, game director says "I will speak to the team on how to remember one of the fallen"

A Helldivers 2 player by the in-game name of OkamiCheems sadly passed away earlier this month, as their friend Fine-Clothes-1209 recently informed the game's Reddit community, and has been sent off by tens of thousands of like-minded democracy enthusiasts in a bittersweet display of community support. 

In the third most-upvoted post in the history of the Helldivers 2 subreddit, Fine-Clothes-1209 writes: "So today I woke up to the news that my best friend passed away yesterday on his birthday. He loved this game and he grinded it out daily. I remember him teaching me how to kite chargers, drop bile titans with the railgun, etc. We faced the hordes of Automaton scourge and blew up more Terminid’s holes than I can count. He finally got to Skull Admiral the day before his birthday. I was wondering, would it be possible to export his game data? Me and my other friends wanna make a memorial with his game stats and etc."

The top reply to the post, from user Symolian88, is an in-character response that sparked a chain of countless commiserations: "The Ministry of War would like to commend this Helldiver for his bravery, devotion and sacrifice to the spread of managed democracy, freedom, liberty and for Super Earth. He will be sent off with full honors. Soldiers, attention!! Salute!"

What follows is a genuinely lovely cascade of Helldivers 2 soldiers saluting via shared GIF, with thousands upon thousands pushing the chain up the ranks with yet more upvotes. Other responses are likewise filled with sympathetic folks offering condolences and increasingly elaborate eulogies. What's more, the exchange caught the attention of Helldivers 2 director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, who said in a reply: 

"I am so sorry for your loss. My battle brother of 20 years passed away 3 years ago. To this day I still see his username on Discord, Steam and other platforms and fondly remember the many fond gaming memories we shared. I will speak to the team on how to remember one of the fallen. As my grandma said: 'Sorgen är för de som lever kvar'." (The best translation I've found for this Swedish phrase is "grief is for those who are still alive.")

It would be wonderful to see this player get an in-game tribute, not unlike the way Cyberpunk 2077 seemingly honored a late Chinese fan or how Starfield tipped its hat to a fan who died of lung cancer.