Helldivers 2 gets a Crowdstrike-Microsoft situation of its own as Ministry of Truth tells service technicians to manually reboot affected computers 15 times "to bring systems back online"

Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation)

Helldivers 2 has seemingly parodied the recent Crowdstrike/Microsoft situation, with an in-game faulty cybersecurity update temporarily taking down all surveillance systems on player Destroyer ships.

If you've been anywhere near the internet over the last few days, you're no doubt aware of the Crowdstrike/Microsoft situation. A faulty update from the former company took down the software of the latter company, causing chaos for computers around the world. Banking and travel systems were among those completely taken offline.

As fans have noticed on Reddit, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead is seemingly poking fun at the whole fiasco. Super Earth has apparently rolled out a cybersecurity update that took Destroyer surveillance systems offline, and onboard Destroyer technicians are now being told to reboot each affected computer 15 times.

What's more, Helldivers are prompted to record their own behavior while the surveillance systems are down, effectively being prompted by Super Earth's government to spy on themselves. I'm not really sure how any soldiers feel about that, but I'm sure Super Earth's government will no doubt put some hearty democratic spin on it very shortly.

In more pressing matters for Arrowhead's community, the developer just announced the huge Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom update yesterday. Penciled in for an August 6 launch, this hefty patch will introduce brand-new enemies and mission objectives, as well as an all-new difficulty level that's sure to drive even the most hardened Helldivers out of their minds.

"We could never have predicted how far this game would go": Helldivers 2's biggest update yet is just the "first step" to "expand the game in big, meaningful ways."

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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