Helldivers 2 Operation Swift Disassembly was a success, leaving players wondering what's next

eurogamer.net:

Over the weekend, intrepid Helldivers accomplished what perhaps once seemed unimaginable: eradicating all bots in Helldivers 2. Combined with the news that all those Terminind bugs are now «contained», to use developer Arrowhead's words, the feeling among players is one of celebration. Right? We beat Helldivers 2?

Indeed, in a post on social media platform X, the Helldivers 2 team proclaimed the «galaxy is free once more», which surely means we can all breathe a sweet sigh of relief. I am sure Game Master Joel has nothing left up his sleeve. Soon, we shall be met with a cutscene showing Super Earth now thriving thanks to our hard efforts, and Helldivers 2's servers will be shut down.

Nope, I don't believe that for a second either! And neither do players — who are now trying to work out what could be next.

First, there seems a very strong chance the Illuminate — a third enemy faction from the original Helldivers game — will show up.

According to the Helldivers Fandom page, the Illuminate are not present in Helldivers 2, as «they no longer have any presence in the galaxy by the year 2184, having apparently been exterminated by humanity». The page does, however, note that the «veracity of this extermination is unknown», and «under certain circumstances, you may randomly receive a distorted radio message on your ship»…

This message? It's this: «Super Earth lied… they didn't want you to know… the Illuminate… they're coming.»

Perhaps teasing their arrival, there were reports earlier in the year of mysterious blue, damage-inflicting lasers popping up in the game. «It must have been an Illuminate Sniper just like the first game, and it (the sniper) must've teleported out immediately after the shot,» Reddit user Dye335 reported at the time.