Helldivers 2, the Arrowhead Game Studios cooperative shooter that started in 2024 on PS5 and has since made its way to Xbox Series X|S and PC, just became part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog. Timing is not a coincidence. Sony is using the title to push the pitch that PlayStation Plus keeps getting better, and the developers are using it to launch two big updates at once: a new story arc called Devoid of Liberty, and a Warhammer 40,000-themed warbond (a warbond is the in-game battle pass that lets players unlock cosmetics and gear by earning medals in missions).
If you are a subscriber to PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium, the game is now downloadable from the catalog. Headline pitch from Sony, in the words of Mary Yee, senior vice president of marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, is that the Game Catalog “continues to recognize the value of PlayStation Plus and an ever-evolving Game Catalog with strong content specially curated for the PlayStation community.” That is the corporate phrasing. Simpler translation is that Sony is putting a popular live-service game (a game that is updated regularly with new content rather than shipped once and left alone) on the subscription because it has the player numbers to make the case for Plus Extra and Premium tiers.
Player numbers are worth a pause. According to Sony, Helldivers 2 has now surpassed 22.9 million players across PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. That figure covers the lifetime of the game since its 2024 launch, and it includes the rough patch the game went through in mid-2024 when player counts dropped after Sony’s attempt to mandate a PlayStation Network account linking on PC. Number is not a current-month active player count, so it does not tell you how many people are playing today. It tells you how many people have tried the game at some point.
What Devoid of Liberty actually adds
Devoid of Liberty is the new story update. Arrowhead has been running a structure of seasonal story arcs since launch, with each arc bringing a new threat, a new faction, and a new set of missions. Setup for this one, as the studio has teased it, centers on a separation of powers and a fight for the survival of Super Earth democracy. Marketing language leans hard into the satirical tone the game is known for: a flag-waving patriotic framing applied to a game about dropping into bug-infested planets and dying repeatedly.
Devoid of Liberty is the kind of free content drop that live-service shooters live or die on. If you have not played Helldivers 2 in a while, this is the kind of update that justifies picking it back up. If you have never played it, the new content is a reasonable entry point because the seasonal arcs are designed to be jumpable.
If you have been away for a year, here is what the pitch is asking you to care about:
- A new story arc with a new enemy faction and a new map rotation. The Helldivers 2 loop is missions on procedural planets, and the story arc drives which planets are active and which enemy types you fight.
- New stratagems and weapons. Stratagems are the in-game support calls you summon from orbit, and each season adds new ones. New stratagems change the way squads approach difficult missions.
- A new warbond at launch. The 40K warbond is the headline, but the update also includes a separate, free warbond track that any player can earn without paying extra.
- A live-event window. Seasonal arcs usually run for a fixed number of weeks. The story arc ends when the community completes the major order goals, which is part of the design.
The Warhammer 40,000 crossover
Warhammer 40,000 warbond is a licensed cosmetics bundle. Warhammer 40,000 is the far-future sci-fi setting from Games Workshop, the British tabletop games company, and it has crossed over into video games many times. Version coming to Helldivers 2 is, in the studio’s framing, a cosmetic-only collaboration. Warbond adds armor sets, capes, and other visual elements themed around the Warhammer 40K universe, available to players who progress through the in-game medal system.
Interesting part is the symbolic collision. Helldivers 2 is built around a satirical pro-humanity propaganda tone. Warhammer 40K is built around a grimdark far-future setting where humanity is under siege from every direction. Two blend in a way that is funnier than either does alone. Expect a lot of social media posts about Space Marines dropping into Helldivers missions.
For existing players, the warbond is a reason to log in and run missions. For new players, the timing matters because the cosmetics are time-limited by the warbond’s progression structure: you earn medals by playing, and the medals unlock the cosmetic tiers. Once the warbond rotates, the items are gone.
What the timing buys Sony
Sony has been pushing PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium as the tier worth paying for since the revamp in 2022. Argument has always been that the Game Catalog is the difference between a basic subscription and a real one. Putting a 22.9-million-player game on the catalog, with two major content updates running at the same time, is the strongest form of that argument.
It is also the kind of move that puts pressure on the catalog going forward. If Sony is willing to put a multi-platform live-service game on Plus Extra the same week it gets a major update, the catalog has to keep producing these moments or subscribers will notice. Current PlayStation Plus leadership has been quiet about the size of the catalog month over month, but the usual pattern is that Game Catalog additions on a Tuesday include three or four mid-tier games and one headliner.
For Arrowhead, the timing is straightforward. They get more players in the door during a content update, which is the most valuable moment to acquire a player. Longer they keep those players, the more the cosmetic-only monetization (the warbond) does its work.
Trade-offs
Biggest trade-off for a player is whether the subscription is worth it for one game. If you would have bought Helldivers 2 anyway, PlayStation Plus Extra pays for itself fast if you would also play the rest of the catalog. If you would only play Helldivers 2, it is cheaper to buy the game.
Second trade-off is platform. Helldivers 2 runs on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. PS Plus version is only for PS5. If you are on Xbox or PC, you buy the game directly. Cross-play (the ability to play with people on other platforms) is on, so the PS Plus players will be in the same lobbies as the standalone players.
Third trade-off is the timing. Devoid of Liberty story arc and the Warhammer 40,000 warbond are time-limited. If you start the game during this window, you get the new content. If you start in three months, the warbond is gone and the story arc is in the past. Game Catalog version is permanent for subscribers, but the in-game content window is not.
What I would tell past me
Collaborative campaigns in Helldivers 2 are the part that does not work over the long run without a squad you enjoy playing with. Solo difficulty is the part most people underrate. If you are picking the game up on PlayStation Plus, plan for the first few hours with a friend, and plan for the fact that some of the harder missions require coordination that a random matchmaking lobby will not give you.
Game is also a lot more fun with a microphone. Satirical tone is part of the experience, and the satirical tone lands harder when you and your squad are calling out objectives in character.
If you have already played the game, the Devoid of Liberty story arc and the Warhammer 40,000 warbond are the reason to log back in. If you have never played it, this is the best week to start.
Source: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/were-further-strengthening-the-value-of-playstation-plus-helldivers-2-has-just-dropped-on-ps-plus-in-time-for-a-huge-warhammer-40-000-crossover