Helldivers 2 players think the upcoming Illuminate update could be a big troll

Key Takeaways

Yesterday, Helldivers 2 fans saw an update for the game on Steam that suggests the Illuminate is on its way.
While it seems to tease the long-awaited arrival of the faction, some players are skeptical.
On the subreddit, the community is divided over whether Arrowhead is just teasing or actually leading up to the big update.

Helldivers 2 players are debating whether the recent Illuminate update spotted on Steam is just an obvious troll from Arrowhead or ultimately the real deal.

Since its launch early this year, Helldivers 2 has been on quite a rollercoaster. It was the most popular game of 2024 for a while and one of PlayStation’s biggest successes, but it’s been a little shakier since the PSN login controversy and nerfs threatened to undermine all the game’s goodwill. However, one thing has remained consistent: the constant teases about the Illuminate.

The Illuminate is hiding from a Helldiver, but it is Spongebob who is hiding from Squidward.

Helldivers 2 should have revealed the Illuminate months ago

Players simply walk in circles and wait for something valuable to happen.

For those who don’t know, the Illuminate were one of the most powerful, mysterious, and squid-like factions from the first Helldivers. Since the sequel’s launch, fans have been waiting for its return and dealing with a near-endless stream of Arrowhead teases and leaks from dataminers. It’s the big update everyone’s been waiting for, and it looks like we’re finally nearing the finish line.

Is Helldiver 2’s Illuminate update a troll?

Yesterday, Redditor Dangerous-Return5937 posted to the Helldivers 2 subreddit, showing off a number of updates added to the game’s Steam client, as shown on SteamDB. So far this isn’t too surprising for a live service game, but what’s interesting about the updates is that many of them have a tag that says ‘Illuminate’.

Many fans have taken this as a soft confirmation that the Illuminate are finally heading to Helldivers 2, which makes sense given what’s shown. That said, there are a fair number of Helldivers 2 players who think it could just be an elaborate troll from Arrowhead, who are certainly aware that SteamDB updates are easily visible.

For example, several players have joked that it’s possible that the Illuminate tag just refers to a lighting engine and that Arrowhead is teasing fans even more than before. Some have said that it seems too obvious to be a legitimate tease and that the developers would certainly be more careful.

I can’t wait until there is an update on the lighting in the gameplay and everyone gets fooled. I would expect them to troll us. I would expect them to accidentally leak it too. So 50/50?

Other fans say it’s likely a fake-out or just some elements currently being tested for the game. It seems that whatever the update is hinting at, the Helldivers 2 community is incredibly skeptical about the simplicity of finally introducing the Illuminate. Maybe we’ll find out for sure at The Game Awards.