
Helldivers 2's galactic war is much more than a mission selector. In a short time, players have become invested in the status of their favorite planets and reacted to gains and losses in a sector's liberation. The simulated conflict playing out both in-game and on social media has become an unexpected focal point of the Helldivers 2 experience.
Unexpected to players, that is. To developer Arrowhead Game Studios, the war is a product of careful planning and storytelling by a specific behind-the-scenes individual pulling the strings: what Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt described to PC Gamer as Helldivers 2's "dungeon master."