Helldivers 2 adds “500+ hours” of progression with its big “s**t your pants” update, and Arrowhead’s CEO wants to know: “What is the pant situation like?”

Helldivers 2 creators Arrowhead have been cryptically hinting at a significant revelation for some time. This anticipation was further fueled by the intriguing promise of “exciting news to come” along with Arrowhead’s CEO, Shams Jorjani’s, tongue-in-cheek assertion that something in the pipeline for this third-person shooter will essentially stun everyone. Today, it is evident what the developer was alluding to in the latest update, and the CEO is monitoring the situation closely.

The CEO’s promise (or threat), cheekily stating “you’ll be petrified” thanks to Helldivers 2, has become a viral meme among its enthusiastic legion of fans in the past few weeks. The community on Reddit, described as going “overboard” by the CEO, even made a parody of this sentiment. Acknowledging this, Jorjani confessed that Arrowhead must “deliver something impressive,” and it appears they have certainly succeeded in that endeavor.

Arrowhead’s latest game update for Helldivers 2 introduces three new Illuminate enemies to confront, it also introduces weapon customization for most primary weapons, discontinues the rotation of items in the Superstore (now everything is available all the time), and brings numerous balance changes.

For instance, in a new video detailing the latest patch notes, design director Niklas Malmborg explained that fire damage now “scales with the size of the enemy,” causing larger enemies such as Chargers to endure more damage when set ablaze.

Weapon customization is a huge factor, and in a special video, Malmborg expressed that Arrowhead would “continue to develop it,” as it has “more surprises up its sleeve.” It seems like “in the foreseeable future,” sidearms and melee weapons might receive enhancements as well. Currently, some primary weapons offer up to 20 customization options to unlock, which Malmborg approximates adds “an extra 500+ hours” of progression to the game.

Given the extensive update Arrowhead has rolled out, one can easily imagine Jorjani’s triumphant grin as he asked the official Discord server inquisitively: “How’s the situation with the pants?”

Devoted Helldivers have indeed lived up to expectations. The game’s subreddit hosted on Reddit is abundant with postulates ranging from “oh glory, my pants!” to “my trousers are soiled. Well done.”

Some have extended apologies to the CEO, conceding that they “weren’t acquainted with his game” when the pant staining humor took off, while others affirm that they’ve remained hopeful from the start. One affirmed, “Never doubted the shattening”.

As a fan on Discord implores, “everyone kindly inform Mr. Jorjani that you’ve soiled your pants,” the CEO replies in a surprisingly heartwarming manner given the circumstances. “That one casual joke really escalated. I cherish all of you.”

Do take a look at our compilation of the most significant alterations in the Galactic Emergency Helldivers 2 update patch notes.

I act as GamesRadar+’s Deputy News Editor, teaming up with the rest of the news crew to deliver engaging gaming narratives that we are excited about. After devoting a significant number of hours filling the student newspaper at The University of Sheffield with Pokemon and indie game insights, and garnering a Journalism Studies degree, I began my journey at GAMINGbible as a journalist, where I worked for more than a year. Subsequently, I transitioned to TechRadar Gaming as a news writer, generating stories and writing about intriguing subjects. In my leisure time, I can be found engrossed in story-centric RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal on my Nintendo Switch or PS5, replaying old Pokemon games with self-imposed challenges, or attempting to secure a Victory Royale in Fortnite.