With minutes to spare, Helldivers 2 players complete the Illuminate Major Order to save Calypso — but you and I both know that was only the first wave

Over two days after Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios shadow dropped the long-awaited Illuminate faction during The Game Awards, thousands of Super Earth's finest soldiers have managed to repel the squid-like aliens' invasion of Calypso. As a result, the relevant Major Order has been completed, rewarding everyone in the Super Earth fleet with 50 Warbond Medals and a stratagem for the Fast Recon Vehicle players were finding throughout their missions on Calypso that's coming soon.

The Major Order to push back the Illuminate's offensive was unquestionably one of the most intense (if not the most intense) campaigns of the Galactic War thus far, with the Helldivers fighting the invaders tooth and nail around the clock for 48+ hours. They completed it a mere 10 minutes before the Level 96 invasion (presumably, 100 is the max difficulty on this newly added scale) was slated to succeed — a victory by the skin of Lady Liberty's teeth, if I've ever seen one.

A huge part of that success is thanks to Helldivers 2 skyrocketing on Steam in the wake of the Omens of Tyranny update, with countless players dropping onto the front lines to battle the Illuminate and test out gear from the new Urban Legend battle pass-like Premium Warbond. Notably, Arrowhead chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt revealed on social media that over one million players dove in the 24 hours that followed the Illuminate's arrival, and SteamDB data shows that roughly 80,000-130,000 Super Earth space marines were playing concurrently at any given time during the Major Order (the count peaked at 150,153 on Saturday evening). It's also become a Steam Top Seller once again, and even briefly surpassed new popular juggernauts like Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2.

With the Illuminate's seizure of Calypso thwarted, the faction itself is no longer available to fight right now. That's rather disappointing if you ask me, since it's pretty much everything I could ask for and more from a new enemy type (don't let the Democracy Officer hear I'm sad they're gone). Even though I've been mowing down Voteless hordes and Overseer troops almost non-stop to defend the colony planet, I've had so much fun doing so that I'm eager to get right back to it.

Yet despite assertions from Super Earth High Command that this was just "a small cell of Illuminate forces" that survived the First Galactic War from the original Helldivers — "as soon as they [remnants] are located, they will be eradicated" — it's clear that the Illuminate will be back, and are all-but-sure to be back soon. In fact, I'm surprised a new engagement against the armies of the alien menace didn't immediately start after our triumph.

In case you're wondering, a new Major Order hasn't been passed down yet, so for now, the Helldivers will have to head back to the Terminid or Automaton fronts to continue spreading Managed Democracy (the bots, in particular, are starting to get uncomfortably close to Super Earth). In the coming hours, though, I'm sure the Illuminate will begin a larger offensive in the galaxy's southern sectors.

The Calypso Major Order was easily one of the most exciting ones in Helldivers 2's history, as it's been awesome seeing the community frantically come together to work out strategies, make loadouts, and share tips to overcome the Illuminate's unique blend of zombie hordes, burly melee and airborne shock troops, and towering walkers that punish slow movement in the open. Participating in its final hours was also an absolute blast, and considering how down to the wire it came, my friends and I genuinely felt like we had an impact on the community's wider effort when we burned through a few operations this afternoon.

All in all, it was the perfect capstone to what has been a phenomenal opening year for Arrowhead's PC and PS5 live-service co-op shooter. I still wish that it had at least gotten a nomination for Game of the Year — I'm inviting angry comments with this, but hot take: it deserved one more than Black Myth: Wukong or the Elden Ring DLC — but I'm happy it took home Best Multiplayer and Best Ongoing at The Game Awards.

Helldivers 2 | was $39.99 now $25.49 at CDKeys (PC, Steam)

Helldivers 2 is one of 2024's biggest and most popular new games, and an absolute blast to play with friends. Though typically $40, it's nearly $15 off right now thanks to this awesome CDKeys deal. The Super Citizen Edition that gives you access to some exclusive extras is also steeply discounted, making it an attractive alternative option.

Also see: Super Citizen Edition (was $59.99 now $35.69 at CDKeys)