In Helldivers 2, players have overwhelmed the servers. Two events, announced almost simultaneously, brought hundreds of thousands to log into the game. So many, that queues have returned.
What caused the influx of players? On August 26, 2025, players were allowed to start as new recruits in Helldivers 2 on Xbox for the first time. After being playable exclusively on Steam and PS5 for over a year, the developers have now invited the new cadets to play.
But while the Xbox divers were just diving into battle against the first enemies, the developers of Helldivers 2 made a big announcement that brought joy to veterans and recruits alike.
Here you can see the latest war bond:
War against the bugs causes queues
What an announcement it was! Around 2 PM on August 26, 2025, the developers of Helldivers 2 announced their next major expansion. This is set to plunge players into war against the bugs and lead to the home worlds of the Terminites.
There, players can expect a completely new terrain, including underground tunnel systems that must be conquered without air support from above ground. Not only without airstrikes, but also with limited ammunition. In the dark, the Helldivers are to eradicate the bug nests.
On the home worlds, the Helldivers will also face all sorts of new and upgraded types of enemies, who will defend their home world from attack.
What about the servers? After these two major events happened in one day, many players were immediately eager to log into Helldivers 2. The two channels on YouTube, where the announcement video was published, reached over 1.4 million views within 18 hours.
In-game, it looked no different thanks to the new Xbox recruits and the returnees who were drawn by the great war against the bugs. According to a screenshot on Reddit, over 390,000 players were online across all platforms at the same time.
Just a few minutes later, players reported being affected by a server crash, which also hit PC players. It is suspected that the high player count stressed the servers to their limits. This theory is supported because players had to wait in a queue after the crash before they could log in again.
On Steam alone, player numbers tripled within a day, peaking at 167,795 players according to SteamDB. This marked the highest player count since the release of the co-op shooter, surpassing even the invasion of Above Ground and the introduction of the Illuminated as the third faction in the game.
With two major events in one day, the developers have probably exceeded even their expectations and attracted more players than they thought. The war against the bugs officially starts on September 2nd, but until then, you can already inform yourself about what to expect on the home worlds of the Terminites: Helldivers 2 announces major expansion, allowing you to destroy the home worlds of the bugs
