Helldivers 2 is an exceptionally popular game, with a large, healthy playerbase that enjoys its particular combination of strategic, action-centric PvE gameplay and satirical, Starship Troopers-esque setting. It is also, however, a deeply cursed game, as it seems as though it regularly endures new and terrible developments that, in turn, spark a wave of fresh outrage from that aforementioned large playerbase. It’s so cursed, other multiplayer games have tried to take extra steps just to avoid “Helldivers syndrome.”
The most notorious example of this was not too long after its launch in 2024, when it was announced a few months in that those playing the PC version would be forced to make and log in with a PlayStation account. The backlash to this was so intense and prolonged, the decision was eventually walked back.
The latest symptom of the Helldivers 2 curse has manifested in the form of a new update to the game that was released about a week ago. This update introduced an extremely controversial form of kernel-level anti-cheat measures into the game, as well as inadvertently broke many player-made mods. In the days since then, the game has once again undergone a severe review-bombing, with...
