Flying Terror Took Helldivers 2 Players by Surprise. Devs: “This Is Propaganda From Bug Sympathizers”
Undermining the Terminids doesn't seem to have pleased their sympathizers, who are sowing damaging propaganda online. At least that's how one of the developers of Helldivers 2 explains the „lying” rumors about unknown threats.
Helldivers 2 fans cannot complain about lack of excitement. Partly because the creators do not reveal all their cards and thus manage to surprise the defenders of Democracy. For example, players recently spotted unknown flying enemies among the Terminid troops in Helldivers 2.
Death from above
These are by no means completely unfounded rumors. As in the case of the mech leak, several daredevils managed to record their encounter with the flying terror (via Reddit).
Creatures, dubbed by some fans "Shriekers" (it is not clear whether this is the official name), were not the only novelty noticed by players. In one of the videos, you can also see mysterious mushroom-shaped structures (or simply gigantic glowing mushrooms).
Some internet users initially thought that these were so-called Spore Spewers, which -- as the name suggests -- spread poisonous spores. However, these new objects seem to be rather a habitat for flying monsters. Apparently, they operate on a similar principle to Stalkers -- if we destroy the nest, the Shriekers will stop appearing.
Wormy propaganda and lies of traitors.
It's probably no coincidence that these enemies appeared with the announcement of the new direction and its related missions. The purpose of this is to activate the Terminid Control System, which is supposed to cleanse the worlds of the insectoid plague once and for all. The worm invaders have also been somewhat weakened in the latest update.
However, the creators did not confirm the players' assumptions. On the contrary, Johan Pilestedt stated that all reports about the Screechers were untrue and considered them to be harmful propaganda by Terminid "sympathizers." Everyone knows that "Worms don't fly," which is also confirmed by the Ministry of Truth (in reference to one of the offices from George Orwell's 1984 novel; via website X).
The players quickly joined the game. Some fans published evidence (manipulated, according to the president of Arrowhead) of the existence of flying creatures, including one of Helldivers 2's promotional graphics visible on the loading screen. Others regretfully informed Internet users who posted these "lies" that they had reported them to Democracy Officers or had followed Pilestedt's example and denied all reports about them (via Reddit).
Communicative creators
When the president of Arrowhead Game Studios stated that the creators did not want to provide players with all information (in the context of weapon statistics), some fans criticized this decision. However, there is no doubt that the appearance of the Shriekers (and, earlier, the mechs) would not have aroused such interest if the creators had fully officially confirmed their arrival in advance, as is usually the case in games.
It's also impossible not to notice that Johan Pilestedt is clearly having a great time, playing his role as a high-ranking representative of the Super Earth forces. His posts (numerous, as the Swede actively responds to comments and information from players) clearly inspire the community. There are countless threads, posts and comments on social media whose authors have taken on the role of "hell divers."
Of course, this wouldn't overshadow the issues the game is still struggling with. Nevertheless, even such casual messages show players that the creators remain in contact with the community. Moreover, developers also share more serious announcements. Yesterday's patch, although it did not meet all the players' demands, introduced changes in line with their wishes.
Helldivers 2 also has no problem keeping players engaged. A month after its release, the game still attracts crowds of Steam users (vie SteamDB), and even on PlayStation there is no shortage of recruits willingly (or with the right "encouragement") ready to defend humanity.
