Now that the deadly bots have been defeated, it appears that an advanced alien society is now on the horizon.
The fight against the Automatons has been a struggle, pushing the Helldivers to the edge to get the job done. Are they gone forever, though?
This is the question plaguing the Helldivers 2 community as they now move on to eradicating the Terminids and look towards their next target.
Sure, developer Arrowhead Games has provided a roadmap to give players an indication of what’s planned for the co-op third-person shooter – however, it seems there are still a few surprises in store.
In fact, it’s the Helldivers 2 community that has dug deep to discover what faction is now set to materialise in an upcoming update.
We’ve rounded up all the details below, as well as what this means for the Automatons.
Are the Helldivers 2 Automatons defeated?
Yes, the Helldivers successfully completed Operation Swift Disassembly and defeated the Automatons in their never-ending pursuit of delivering democracy to the universe.
The official copy confirming the Automatons’ downfall can be read below:
“The Automaton threat has been fully eradicated from our galaxy. Our citizens are safe, our heroic fallen avenged. With the bots eradicated and bugs contained, the galaxy is free once more.
“The supposed threat posed by the so-called ‘Reclamation’ can be considered fully ended. Out of an abundance of caution, SEAF teams will continue to search what remains of the Automaton facilities and servers for any additional intelligence.”
Will the Automatons come back in Helldivers 2?
You did it, Helldivers. Operation Swift Disassembly was a success! With the bots eradicated and bugs contained, the galaxy is free once more. pic.twitter.com/W7GolbDmHW
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) April 7, 2024
While nothing has been officially confirmed, it’s fair to expect the return of Automatons at some point in the life cycle of Helldivers 2. This is a live-service game, after all.
In terms of when we might see their return, we’d like to think it would be a few months at the very least – potentially not even until 2025.
This gives the Automatons a chance to refuel, rebuild and reengage its troops. We’re confident this isn’t the last time we’ve seen them.
What could replace the Automatons in Helldivers 2?
With the Automatons gone, speculation has turned to what faction will replace the malevolent robots – and it seems that The Illuminate are poised to enter the battle.
Appearing in the original Helldivers game, the Illuminate are a highly advanced civilisation that has existed in the universe for thousands of years.
The aquatic-like species has been spotted in a datamine (via Reddit), with various enemy types also being listed. These include Adept, Ghoul, Illusionist, Obelisk, Outcast, Pathfinder and Summoner.
This isn’t the first time a datamine for Helldivers 2 has found evidence of what’s next for the game, with several discovering codes for mechs ahead of their implementation.
So, if we had to put money down on it, we’d expect The Illuminate to join in the coming weeks. In the meantime, there’s always the Terminids that still need wiping out. You have your commands, soldier.
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Helldivers 2 is available across PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows.
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