Helldivers 2 Game Master Joel apparently isn't as evil as we thought: the commander-in-pain's "personal favorite" community moment is the time players helped raise money for real-life sick children

A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Arrowhead's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Game Master Joel – who also identifies as the studio's telekinetic superhuman J.O.E.L. – has a reputation for sadism, but he astonishingly reveals a soft side in a new video celebrating 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Helldivers 2's one year anniversary. Apparently,ꦉ the warlord's "personal favorite" community moment is whꦡen Helldivers players helped raise money for real-world children in need.

"I am Super Earth's high command," Joel says in , a community-oriented video series Arrowhead has been releasing 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:to c🌱elebrate Helldivers 2's first birthday. "I am the Terminid Swarm, I am the socialist Automatons," and ♔clearly a proponent of accessible healthcare.

In a 2024 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Major Order, "We gave the community the choice between two, brand-new stratagems: the Airburst Rockets on Penta, or the [Anti-Tank] 🐼Mines on Choohe. The community chose to libera🍎te Penta," Joel recalls. But, with the Mines still locked away, Helldivers players were unable to destroy a troupe of ruthless Automatons that Arrowhead had sent after them.

"The community then was given the choice between unlockin🐎g this brand-new stratagem, the AT Mines," Joel says, "or liberate some imaginary, very sick children on Vernon Wells."

Cynically, Arrowhead was "pretty sure" Helldivers players would choose the explosives over the sniffling babies, but eventually, "doing the right thing" became the overwhelming communit🐎y sentiment, Joel explains.

Helldivers 2 players ultimately chose to #SaveTheKids, and, to honor that decision, Arrowhead donated money to the real-world nonprofit Save the Children – $4,311 total, which, despite the sinister fact ꦿthat the number "trജanslates into 'HELL,'" Joel says, is a relatively angelic gift.

"This is the moment where it became abundantly clear to everyone at Arrowhead – and to the world at large – just ✱what the Galactic War can accomplish," Joel concludes.

Another Helldivers 2 collaboration is already in the "early stages" after the sci-fi shooter crossed over with Killzone.

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in gam🐟es for sites like 🦹Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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