Two Years After Launch, Helldivers 2 Begins Its Biggest Mission Yet

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Published Feb 4, 2026, 7:00 AM EST

Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based out of Kansas City. He received a bachelor's degree, dual majoring in English and History with a minor in Film and Media Studies, and has been a senior staff writer and reviewer for Screen Rant's Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial, and various freelance projects.

A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history.

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We're closing in on two years since Helldivers 2 launched, and Managed Democracy is facing one of its gravest threats yet. New Warbonds have kept content flowing, and significant housekeeping has slashed the size of HD2 on PC, but the Second Galactic War has been relatively quiet since the Illuminate's heretical invasion of Super Earth. The galaxy appears to be on the brink of anarchy, though, as the Automatons have secured a major threat.

A new Helldivers 2 trailer confirms the bots have stolen the blueprints for the Star of Peace superweapon, an orbital installation capable of turning planets into black holes. In response, Super Earth High Command has instigated the largest Helldiver offensive of the war thus far: invasion of Cyberstan, the Automaton home world. The first Major Order of Operation Valid Pretext requires players to take large swathes of Automaton territory to secure either Aurora Bay or Merak, both of which neighbor Cyberstan.

Helldivers 2 Players Are Beginning Their Invasion Of Cyberstan

Helldivers 2 trailer screenshot showing players riding in the new Bastion Tank.

This objective lasts for a whole week, and began early on February 3. Operation Valid Pretext's beginning coincides with Helldivers 2's Into the Unjust 6.0.0 update, which, most notably, adds the new Bastion Tank vehicle to the game. The Siegebreakers Warbond has also arrived, along with a lengthy list of balance changes and bug fixes, all of which can be seen on Steam.

If the Helldivers are successful, the invasion of Cyberstan will likely begin next week, which would mark a major narrative moment for the game. The Automatons were wiped off the galactic map at one point shortly after Helldivers 2 released, but the Automaton home world has not been used to great effect yet. Fan theories suggest a storyline revolving around Cyberstan may lead to the re-emergence of the Cyborgs, the Automatons' creators and one of the main villainous factions of the first Helldivers.

February 8 Will Be Helldivers 2’s Second Anniversary

Helldivers 2 hologram showing Super Destroyers in orbit around Super Earth.

Such theories seemingly have more potential because of the Cyberstan invasion's timing – February 8, 2026, is the second anniversary of the launch of Helldivers 2. This will be right in the middle of the current Major Order, and a big surprise isn't guaranteed, but it wouldn't be unexpected to see developer Arrowhead Game Studios pull out all the stops sometime around the game's second birthday. At this point, the Automatons are past due for an injection of new content, whether that be enemy variants or special mission types.

It's unclear how long Operation Valid Pretext will last, but it appears to be a major story arc. The Helldivers have been granted 200 million reinforcements for the duration of the invasion; if that number of player deaths is reached before Cyberstan falls, Operation Valid Pretext fails. 200 million is an incredible number of player deaths, so it will either be a long siege of the Automaton home world, or new, exceptionally dangerous threats are right around the corner for Helldivers 2 players.