Helldivers 2 passes 150,000 players on Steam for the first time in months thanks to Cyborgs, who may actually be the good guys: "I'd be playing for the Cyborg faction if given the option"

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Helldivers 2 passes 150,000 players on Steam for the first time in months thanks to Cyborgs, who may actually be the good guys: "I'd be playing for the Cyborg faction if given the option" News By Ashley Bardhan published 10 February 2026

They're pretty convincing

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Shocking the most loyal patriots, it seems that Cyborgs from the original Helldivers game may not be the villains Super Earth made them out to be. In fact, the half-human rebels seem to be solely responsible for Helldivers 2 having a major resurgence on Steam right now.

According to SteamDB, Helldivers 2 has enjoyed a 24-hour peak of 151,969 players (and 150,237 people are currently playing as of writing) – the last time Arrowhead's squad-based shooter hit those kinds of democratic numbers was in September 2025. But now that Helldivers 2's new Machinery of Oppression update is out and the Battle for Cyberstan has begun, Helldivers grunts are ready to start punting.

But, wait a second – could the Cyborgs be right to want to remain in control of Cyberstan? The bots recently left Helldivers a series of coded messages warning them not to trust their government, saying things like, "THEY LIE TO YOU, HELLDIVER. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, HELLDIVER. YOU ARE NOT A HERO." In a new YouTube video, the Cyborgs continue to explain that they only want peace and their own freedom.

You may like

• Helldivers 2's Cyborgs are real, and they'd kindly like you to "defect" from Super Earth
• Helldivers 2 Cyborgs recreate the game's intro but with evil humans killing innocent robot children
• Helldivers 2 grunts speculate Cyborgs might be back as binary messages claim Super Earth leaders have been deceiving us

Could it be true? Well, there are signs. According to Helldivers 2's presumably venerable, in-universe Strohmann News broadcast, what the Cyborgs actually mean to say is, "We will enslave you. We will eradicate freedom." But… huh. The Ministry of Truth's broadcast seems suspiciously and heavily edited.

In a Reddit thread discussing the Strohmann News clip, one Helldiver admits, "I'd be playing for the Cyborg faction if given the option." The tides really are turning on Super Earth.

Helldivers 2 devs didn't know if players would actually manage to defend Super Earth last time, so as they drop Cyberstan on their heads, "we don't know what will happen."

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Contact 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. CATEGORIES PS5 PC Gaming Xbox Series X Platforms PlayStation Xbox Ashley BardhanSenior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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