Helldivers 2 climbs back up on Steam as Omens of Tyranny update brings new enemy faction and warbond

HELLDIVERS 2 climbed back into the most played games on Steam last night, as Sony’s squad-based shooter dropped its major Omens of Tyranny update.

At The Game Awards 2024, which wrapped up just a few hours ago, Helldivers 2 snatched the awards for Best Multiplayer and Best Ongoing Game.

Arrowhead / SIE

Arrowhead / SIE

Arrowhead / SIE

Between their two wins during the award show, the developers from Arrowhead announced Helldivers 2’s biggest update yet, called Omens of Tyranny.

The first major expansion for the game since its launch in February 2024 brings a new enemy faction, the Illuminate.

The new enemy type that players will have to fight to keep “managed democracy” afloat was added alongside the original two factions, the Terminids and the Automations.

The Illuminate are not entirely new to the series, as they also appeared in the first Helldivers game, on the PlayStation Vita.

Together with the new update, Helldivers 2 now has a new warbond, the game’s better equivalent to a battle pass in other live service games.

Unlike battle passes, once purchased warbonds are not time-limited, and players can redeem the rewards they offer whenever they’ve earned enough medals by playing the game.

Helldivers 2’s new Urban Legends Warbond features new suits, weapons and gear specifically designed to tackle the new threat of the Illuminate.

As usual, the new warbond costs 1,000 Super Credits to unlock, which is the in-game premium currency, and it could cost the equivalent of £7.99 / $9.99 in real money.

The good news is that Super Credits are easy to earn just by playing the game, and the warbond itself will give you back 300 Super Credits as rewards.

Upon the announcement of the new update, player counts on Steam for Helldivers 2 spiked to a peak of almost 133,324 concurrents, the highest number since late April 2024.

Following the addition of the new warbond this morning, the game’s player numbers have been growing steadily.

Helldivers 2’s stats took a dip back in May 2024 as PlayStation tried to enforce its requirement for PC players to sign up for a free PlayStation Network account.

The move didn’t sit well with many PC gamers who are usually against such practices.

Moreover, PSN accounts are not available in many countries and territories, so the requirement meant a lot of players had to be refunded with the game removed from their libraries.

Sony quickly backfliped on the controversial requirement, and as of now, PC players can enjoy Helldivers 2 without having to sign up for a PSN account.

For more on the latest gaming announcements, check out our live blog for The Game Awards 2024.