Coinciding with the game’s arrival on Xbox systems, The Helldivers 2 team recently unveiled their new update for the game in developer deep dive video. As it begins, the game director, Mikael Eriksson, introduces the new objective of taking the fight to the enemy bug home world. This fight leads players into elaborate new cave systems, which bring with them new gameplay elements and considerations.
Level designer Chris Brettman then explains the impact that fighting underground will have on soldiers who dive from the sky. He warns that ammo and resources will be limited without access to your ship, only available through small cracks to the surface. The team also encourages cooperation in the darker sections of the caves where a flashlight may be required to help allies see their targets.
Two new missions are also introduced as part of the update. The first mission asks players to destroy the Hive Lung to stop the fog in the Gloom. The tight caves that house its defenders promise to make for a unique way to play the game. The second mission sees players escorting a large, slow oil drill to sites around the area. The drill is armed with a cannon, allowing players to set up defenses wherever they go.
Further into the video, game designer Youssef Khatib goes over the new enemies that burrow and charge at players between launching projectiles. There is also an enemy called the Dragon Roach, which spits waves of fire while flying overhead as the name implies. The segment ends by teasing an even larger enemy that can burrow underground.
Finally, the video goes into greater detail about the new equipment from the Halo series discussed here, along with the new Dust Devil weaponry, specialized for dealing with the extreme conditions that the enemy planet will contain. The new weapons allow for incendiary, gas, and missile attacks. The update is free and coming on September 2nd, 2025.