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Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletterYou'll be greeted by a familiar face if you log into Helldivers 2 just now, because the service technician aboard your Super Destroyer is once again reporting for duty. After taking some time away, she can be found hanging about in the lobby, maintaining all your guns and equipment.
"Grateful to be back," she exclaims in some of her fresh dialogue. "And to have been gone. You learn a lot in professional development training, like how to create better documentation, and how to stay focused on a projector screen for hours at a time." It sounds riveting - better her than me.
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Helldivers 2 writer had 7 days to find face of the franchise John Helldiver, the "most insincere" man in the galaxy
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Helldivers 2 boss says morale at Arrowhead is "much better now" following Into the Unjust blowback as "Steam score is trending upwards" and "development is progressing"
A post shared by Sarah Elmaleh (@selmaleh)
A photo posted by on
While that utterly dull extended powerpoint is the in-universe reason she's been gone, in reality her absence aligns with the recent SAG-AFTRA video game strike. From July 2024 to July 2025, voice and motion capture actors in games struck against publishers over the potential use of AI in the industry.
Around 2,600 people associated with motion capture and voice work were involved, no longer providing their talent until a new agreement was negotiated. The technician's disappearance probably coincided with when Arrowhead ran out of banked lines from Elmaleh, and it's taken until now for another batch to be written, recorded and added to the game.
However it's come to pass, players are appropriately excited. "This is the best day of my democratic life!" proclaims a Redditor. "It's good to have her back on board," says another, while a third jokes about only hearing the "legends."
Naturally, there's some strike-related humor mixed in here, too. "Apparently, non-compensated labor was what that strike was about, the one that some other service technicians got a little too interested in," the service technician states in another possible exchange. "The bad apples got re-educated, so it all worked out."
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ NewsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Helldivers 2 grunts, your tank awaits: Completely "pancake" Automatons threatening democracy with "new heavy-hitting" Bastion Tank
TOPICS Sony CATEGORIES PC Gaming PS5 Xbox Series X Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Anthony McGlynnSocial Links NavigationContributing WriterAnthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.
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Helldivers 2 writer had 7 days to find face of the franchise John Helldiver, the "most insincere" man in the galaxy
All Helldivers 2 voice actors in the main cast and their roles
Helldivers 2 boss says morale at Arrowhead is "much better now" following Into the Unjust blowback as "Steam score is trending upwards" and "development is progressing"
Helldivers 2's next 4 arcs are being discussed by Arrowhead, creative director promises to "deliver a bit more often"
Arrowhead creative lead agrees with Helldivers 2 players, calls the game "a never-ending ping pong between 'it's so over' and 'we're so back,'" but says "we're trying to get better with each update"
After Helldivers 2 boss teased chaos in upcoming update, new Illuminate structures appear in Super Earth media
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