Helldivers 2's mysterious black hole might finally come into play as Arrowhead tweaks its look and the new faction inches closer: "Helldivers, protect your holes"

Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
(Image credit: Arrowhead Studios)

Helldivers 2's evolving galactic war always keeps us on our toes, and the latest drama involves our new alien-squid faction inching ever closer toward Super Earth's neighboring black hole - y'know, the one we spaghettified a couple months back - for mysterious (but still probably nefarious) reasons. 

The Illuminate in Helldivers 2 have been causing chaos for a little over a week now, but their teleporting tech means High Command hasn't been able to keep a solid grip over the new faction. Every couple of days, they seem to warp from one sector on the galactic war table to the next and, as of today, the squids now occupy territories directly next to the Terminid faction and where Meridia use to reside - or where the "galactic scar" of a black hole now rests. 

While Super Earth forces might be trying to have us focus on our long-awaited vehicles with its latest Major Order, the community on Reddit obviously came to the conclusion that the Illuminate have ulterior motives in moving toward the Meridian Black Hole. "They're headed for Meridia, they're headed for the goddamn black hole," one comment reads. "You heard him, Helldivers, protect your holes," another says.

What adds more fuel to the fire is that a recent update also tweaked the Meridian Black Hole, slightly changing its ominous purple hue and adding debris that swirls around it. "Some helldivers may have noticed novel electromagnetic phenomena in the vicinity of the Meridian Black Hole," an in-game dispatch reads. "High Command is aware of the situation, which is being closely monitored by experts in the field."

Ever since we, err, blew up an entire planet to spread liberty to bugs who don't know what liberty is, fans have speculated that the black hole would play a key part in the game's unfolding story. Could the Illuminate use it to summon back up as an early Christmas present? Maybe there's some time-dilating weirdness going on and the Illuminate that we destroyed 100 years ago will crawl out of the hole? Or perhaps we're all wrong and the squids are instead aiming to domesticate the bugs? We'll see how it all shakes out soon. 

Now that the fuss over the Killzone 2 crossover item prices is over, the current Major Order has us defending the factory that producing our long-awaited vehicles. "If the Illuminate are not repelled, distribution of the FRV will be severely delayed. Importantly, many colonists will also be killed or abducted." 

Helldivers 2 gave its studio the financial stability to “keep going” and “keep making the games we want.” 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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