Arrowhead Game Studios is preparing a sweeping transformation of Helldivers 2 with roguelite-style Planet Warfronts, a redesigned Galactic War framework, and the studio's first entirely new playable ship in development.
Game director Mikael Eriksson detailed the ambitious roadmap in a Steam post focused on community and player progression. The announcement confirms that Planet Warfronts, teased by creative director Johan Pilestedt in December, represents the roguelite mechanics the studio has been engineering behind the scenes.
Eriksson explained that Arrowhead experimented with dynamic warfronts before launch but lacked the content depth needed to execute the vision properly. "We've now added enough content to realize the vision we had for Planet Warfronts, and it's going to be the next big thing we're working towards in the Galactic War," he wrote.
Under Planet Warfronts, missions will split into three mission types: Defend operations in captured territory, Frontline War engagements at contested zones, and Behind Enemy Lines incursions into hostile land. Players will push toward strategic objectives like enemy cities, which can harbor different enemy variants depending on planetary location. Mission outcomes will trigger gameplay-altering consequences and unlock new Operations, such as disabling artillery to open fresh tactical paths.
The system introduces what Eriksson called "gameplay altering effects and consequences" for completing planetary liberation goals within specific timeframes. He emphasized that players will still face Game Masters, Arrowhead's term for random modifiers that complicate missions.
"The intention is to make it more fun to liberate planets with your squad and deepen the Galactic War and Community Progression systems," Eriksson said. "We want liberating planets to feel unique and epic for everyone."
Alongside Planet Warfronts, the studio is rolling out Galactic War Campaigns this month, described as the "next evolution" of Major Orders. These Campaigns will run for one to three weeks and provide guaranteed rewards if players meet stated objectives. Eriksson noted that clarity has been lacking in how the Galactic War communicates its status and stakes to the player base, and Campaigns aim to fix that.
Campaign rewards will stretch beyond standard medals and cosmetics. Some will alter gameplay mechanics, while others remain purely cosmetic. The first unlockable reward players will chase is a new FRV vehicle.
Personal Orders are being rebanded as Personal Campaign Progression, allowing individual players to earn rewards even if the broader community fails to achieve campaign milestones. This feature won't launch with Campaigns but is planned for rollout later this year.
Arrowhead is simultaneously overhauling ship progression and announcing expansion of the ship roster. The studio has assembled a dedicated team to develop its first new ship, with plans to add more if the community engages with them. Each new ship will feature unique progression trees, specializations, and customization options.
"Our intention is that each new ship will have their own unique progression paths, specializations and customizations," Eriksson said. "If you like the ships, we want to keep adding them." No release window was provided for the first new vessel, though Eriksson promised more details later in 2025.
The studio is also addressing long-standing mechanical issues. Assisted reload will now function if either the carrier or reloader carries the corresponding backpack. Players will gain four additional emote slots, raising the total from four to eight. Input lag during stimpack use is being reduced.
Further ahead, Arrowhead has assembled a task force to fix stratagem bouncing, the unpredictable landing behavior that has frustrated players, with a target completion date of year-end. Hellpod steering, another chronic navigation problem, is receiving similar attention. The studio is also improving enemy and player movement across terrain, raising the level cap to 300, refining economy and resource systems, streamlining Warbond and Superstore menus, and launching closed beta testing focused on stability and balance feedback.
Author Emily Chen: "This is Arrowhead finally showing its hand on what Planet Warfronts actually is, and it sounds less like a complete genre shift and more like a smart deepening of what Helldivers 2 already does well, with roguelite flavor layered on top."
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