Helldivers 2 director explains the limits of Joel the Game Master's power: "The war fought and liberation of planets — that's all you"

Helldivers 2.

What you need to know

• Recently, it was revealed in an interview that Helldivers 2 has a dedicated Game Master called Joel who controls several elements of the game's Galactic War metagame.
• Exactly what Joel can and can't do wasn't made clear in the interview, so early on Thursday morning, Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt clarified things in a post on X (Twitter).
• Joel controls which orders (major and personal) are active, and chooses where Terminid bugs and Automaton bots attack. He can also "reinforce planets" and give players bonus stratagems to use for temporary amounts of time. The outcomes of campaigns for a planet's freedom, however, are determined by the community's performance in battle.
• Pilestedt says Joel also has jurisdiction over "other stuff we haven't revealed yet," and hasn't detailed these things so developer Arrowhead Game Studios can "surprise and delight" in the future.