Helldivers 2’s Latest Major Order Is to Kill 2 Billion Terminids — and the Community Is Already Well on Its Way

The next step in Helldivers 2’s ongoing Galactic War is here, and it’s just about the most straightforward yet: kill bugs. Lots of bugs.

Two billion to be exact. After the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter’s community successfully completed a Major Order to slow a significant Automaton invasion, Game Master Joel has turned players’ attention to the Terminid front with the biggest kill order since the game’s explosive launch in February.

Helldivers 2 players now have just under six days to kill two billion Terminids. That sounds like a lot, but at the time of this article’s publication, with five days and 20 hours left to complete the major order, players had already hit 19.6% completion. That is, over 391 million bugs had already bit the dust.

Based on this initial progress, it seems the community will complete the Major Order sooner rather than later. Has Joel underestimated the community’s willingness to come together to blow up bugs? That seems unlikely. Perhaps Joel had decided to let the Helldivers 2 community blow off some steam with an easygoing Major Order after what was a somewhat grueling battle against the Automatons and those pesky Factory Striders.

Or perhaps Joel will pull a level and surprise us all by increasing the kill count in response to our rapid progress. With Helldivers 2’s meta narrative, you never can tell what’s next.

Speaking of the meta narrative, the in-universe explanation for this major order is worth highlighting. Super Earth has said the Automaton invasion has slowed, and that it must now take this chance to refill its E-710 reserves in order to stage a counter offensive. What’s Element-710? A precious resource Super Earth farms the bugs for. Perhaps read E-710 upside down if you’re wondering what Arrowhead is getting at here.

As Arrowhead maintains the Galactic War and adds new content to the game, it’s also battling bugs of a different kind. This push and pull was a topic discussed by CEO Johan Pilestedt recently as part of a fascinating insight into Arrowhead’s live service philosophy. If you’re looking for more on Helldivers 2, check out IGN’s feature on the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2, a player who has answered over 100 SOS Beacons as part of a mission to help others.

Helldivers 2 has become one of the surprise hits of 2024 since launching in February, topping the charts on Steam and reportedly selling around three million copies. According to at least one analyst, it’s still growing. Check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 review to find out why it’s going down so well.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].