Arrowhead Game Studios co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt has officially shot down a popular fan theory about Helldivers 2, particularly related to its playable characters. The co-op shooter took the gaming world by storm following its release in 2024, quickly becoming one of the hottest games of the year and achieving overwhelming success. Helldivers 2 took home both "Best Ongoing Game" and "Best Multiplayer Game" at the 2024 Game Awards, alongside nominations for other major awards. Now, one of the brains behind Helldivers 2 is quashing a popular fan theory about the titular soldiers.
The popularity of Helldivers 2 has brought with it a plethora of fan theories about different aspects of the franchise and its lore. One of the most popular theories to come from the game has been revolving the identity of its main characters, the titular "Helldivers" that take on the encroaching menace to Super Earth. A common idea amongst fans has speculated that Helldivers 2's characters may in fact be cloned humans, brought out to fight the Terminids and Automatons. However, one of the biggest names involved with Helldivers 2 is now shooting down that theory.
A post shared to the official Helldivers subreddit shares an instance of Arrowhead boss Johan Pilestedt shooting down the fan theory. In a response on Twitter to a fan of the game, Pilestedt confirms that Helldivers 2's supersoldiers are in fact not clones, going so far as to say they are "real people with real families." Pilestedt goes on to joke that the Helldivers being "placed into a freezer" and having a "life expectancy of two minutes" is not disclosed to the Helldivers' families.
Helldivers 2 Chief Quashes Popular Fan Theory
The humorous interaction from the Helldivers 2 director saw many jokes from fans about the expendable nature of the titular supersoldiers. One fan remarked that the mostly-armored appearance of the Helldivers means that the military could falsely claim dead Helldivers were still alive and fighting. Other players suggested that the identity of the Helldivers has been known to the fanbase for some time, suggesting that fans who believe the theory were not understanding the subtext of the story.
The amusing interaction from Helldivers 2's director comes as the shooter has some big changes on the way. Helldivers 2 is set to make its official debut on Xbox consoles later this month, revealed to be launching on August 26 for Xbox Series X/S. The game also saw its third major update earlier this year, with "Heart of Democracy" adding four new Illuminate enemies and the Mega City biome to the game among others. Helldivers 2 looks primed to maintain its early momentum throughout the rest of 2025, between its Xbox debut and Arrowhead constantly introducing new content.
