Arrowhead Game Studios has taken the unusual step of removing an entire faction from Helldivers 2. The Rupture Strain, added as part of the Into the Unjust update, was pulled from the game on September 17 after a series of balance problems frustrated players. The faction introduced Rupture Warriors, enemies that burrowed underground before leaping out with sudden attacks. While the design was meant to add intensity and challenge, players quickly reported that the enemies were disproportionately targeting mission hosts, making some missions nearly unplayable and discouraging cooperative play.
In response to feedback, Arrowhead issued a patch designed to adjust enemy behavior. Instead of solving the problem, the update spread the bug even further. Rupture Warriors, once primarily targeting hosts, began attacking every player with overwhelming aggression. Rather than ease complaints, the patch intensified them and made the faction a source of frustration across the community.
The studio decided to delete the faction while a fix is being developed. Arrowhead confirmed that the Rupture Strain will remain offline for around five weeks. Other factions and enemies are still active, but the developers stated that the Rupture Strain will only return once they are confident that the balance issues have been resolved through careful testing and tuning.
Even with a major enemy type taken out of the game, Helldivers 2 has not lost momentum. The shooter expanded to Xbox Series X and S on August 26, and the results were immediate. Within its first six days on the platform, the game sold about 926,000 copies, outpacing its original PlayStation 5 release in 2024, which sold 633,000 copies during the same launch window. The release was so massive that servers briefly crashed under the strain of the sudden influx of new players eager to join the fight.
The Xbox release pushed the game into the top four for global revenue in August across PC and consoles in markets including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. On Xbox specifically, it ranked eleventh for revenue during that month. Engagement numbers also saw a rise, with the game placing thirteenth across platforms for overall playtime, showing strong interest from both longtime fans and new players alike.
Arrowhead now faces the task of keeping its community engaged while the Rupture Strain is offline. The studio has assured players that the faction will return with significant rebalancing, and the game’s strong sales performance shows that its popularity is unlikely to fade in the meantime. With a rapidly growing audience on Xbox and steady placement on top revenue charts, Helldivers 2 has remained one of the most successful live service titles of 2025 despite ongoing development challenges.
Cool the developers are so responsive. Glad they’ve fostered a stable community for the duration they have.
So let’s bugs 🐛 🤔 then?