Helldivers 2 Heart of Democracy Update Finally Brings the Illuminate Invasion to the Streets of Super Earth

Helldivers 2 finally has Super Earth maps to fight on as part of the Heart of Democracy major update.

As had leaked last week, the Heart of Democracy update — out now across PC and PlayStation 5 — sees the Illuminate invasion reach Super Earth. You can now select missions on our home planet in Mega Cities and fight back alongside SEAF soldiers.

The city biomes include operations that work towards liberating the cities, which, developer Arrowhead said, have “a significant impact on planetary campaigns.” This is a part of Helldivers 2’s ongoing Galactic War, a community-driven meta narrative that Arrowhead orchestrates behind the scenes.

The Illuminate have reached the Heart of Democracy.

Our Mega Cities are under siege. Liberty now hangs in the balance. The Ministry of Defence has authorised arsenal upgrades and placed SEAF soldiers on active duty. Today, we fight for the future of Super Earth! pic.twitter.com/GxkrAQCmKD— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) May 20, 2025

Here’s the official blurb, per the PlayStation Blog:

The Helldivers are tasked with a new objective: to repel the Illuminate invasion by gaining ground over the squids as they fight to control areas where the fleet is landing. It won’t be a walk in the park, divers. Like a game of intergalactic tug-of-war, you will struggle against the incoming forces, gaining and losing control quickly.

You can activate Planetary Defense Cannons and take down the Illuminate fleet, as shown in the trailer. And, as mentioned, SEAF troops will help join the fight to defend the cities. These small squads will fight enemies on their own, or they can be ordered to follow Helldivers and provide temporary backup as you navigate toward objectives. You do, however, need to be mindful of civilians who are still roaming the streets; Helldivers 2 is as much about friendly fire management as it is blowing aliens up.

The Heart of Democracy update is part of Arrowhead's long-term committment to keeping Helldivers 2 going for years to come following its record-breaking launch last year.

Last week, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani addressed player concern that the studio might leave the game behind to focus on its next project, dubbed "Game 6."

"Nah. It's ALL Helldivers 2 for now," he insisted. "A very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it sloowly. Helldivers is our main focus and will be for a loooong time."

So, how long does Jorjani expect content updates for Helldivers 2 to last?

"As long as you folks keep playing and buying Super Credits we can keep it going," Jorjani said, pointing to Helldivers 2's virtual currency that's used to buy Premium Warbonds. "Last summer we were kinda screwing the pooch so it looked like we wouldn't be able to keep the train going for a long time - but we turned the ship around, you support us a lot so it's looking bright."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.