Helldivers 2 Receives Mysterious ‘Gameplay_Illuminates’ Steam Update, Sparking Speculation Among Players

We’ve all been buzzing about Helldivers 2 potentially introducing a third faction—specifically, the Illuminate from the original game. It’s been like a topic that just won’t fade into the background. Now, there’s a flicker of hope with a recent Steam depot update for the game that’s been humorously tagged as “gameplay_illuminates.”

Honestly, I’m not pulling your leg here. It appears that Arrowhead has chosen an outright literal label, much like branding something as blandly direct as Democracy Space Station, and it’s stirred up quite the conversation. The talk among fans, who have long anticipated the potential arrival of these foes in the Galactic War after various twists and turns in Helldivers’ universe, is picking up again.

If you dive into the Helldivers 2 subreddit, a user with the handle Dangerous-Return5937 was quick to catch this latest update’s intriguing name in SteamDB—”gameplay_illuminates.” So far, there’s no further detail on what this update truly signifies. Is it truly setting the stage for the Illuminates to make their comeback? No one knows when, or if, they’ll be making their grand entrance.

This name isn’t exactly hidden and, thus, might not even be a full-blown leak, depending on how one sees it. Naturally, the community is torn. There are folks who are thrilled by this tease, others who are sitting back to see how things unfold, and a few who are simply puzzled.

The skeptics among us point out that if it indeed pertains to the Illuminate, it’s rather odd for Arrowhead to be so straightforward. In comparison, other updates have carried cryptic names like “studio_playtest” or “gameplay_worlds.” Meanwhile, code names like “mimosa,” “orion,” and “wushu” seem less likely to ignite wild fan theories.

A moderator on the Helldivers 2 subreddit remarked, “Arrowhead’s kind of setting themselves up for this speculation by naming their depot update that way.” Some players suspect there might be some trolling at play here, rather than a slip-up on the studio’s part. As one community member quipped, “Can’t wait for it to just be an update on the lighting in the gameplay and everyone gets fooled.”

For now, it’s probably wise not to get too carried away. Even if this alludes to the long-anticipated Illuminates, there’s no telling if they’ll make an immediate appearance. But we’d love to hear your thoughts on this latest development, so feel free to share your opinions on the matter!