If you’ve been playing Helldivers 2 as of late, the odds are that you’ve caught wind of something known as “Liberty Day” taking place soon. This faux holiday is, in fact, a bit of an institution for the developer Arrowhead Game Studios, and we may end up celebrating it!
Precious little is known about how Liberty Day may or may not be celebrated in Helldivers 2 at this time. In the original Helldivers, however, this holiday usually marked the release of free new Stratagems, tactical gear, cosmetics, and even entirely new game modes. Here’s everything we know about it from the years prior!
Understanding Liberty Day
Liberty Day is a fictional Super Earth holiday celebrated on October 26. Curiously enough, this day is significant for two reasons:
- Starship Troopers (the novel) was first published on October 26, 1959
- Arrowhead’s former CEO and current CCO, Johan Pilestedt, celebrates his birthday on October 26
The date appears to have some backstory, then, though it may just be a happy coincidence that Pilestedt’s birthday falls on this very date. The Starship Troopers parallel is more likely to have been the motivation on this front.
Back on track, 2024 marks the first time we get to see Liberty Day in action in Helldivers 2, as the game launched in February. There’s no precedent as to what might happen this year, but I am reasonably sure it will include some manner of throwback to the old Helldivers title. There is a bunch of content that Arrowhead might wish to port into the new game, after all.
Anticipating Liberty Day Celebrations
One thing we can do, however, is check out how Arrowhead celebrated Liberty Day in Helldivers, which might give us an idea of what to expect in Helldivers 2 this October 26.
The first Helldivers game received several substantial content updates themed around Liberty Day. Here’s a quick look at what was introduced over the years:
- 2016: M2016 Constitution rifle, Liberty Cape, Community Cape, Developer Cape
- 2017: Heavy Strafing Run, A/GL-8 Launcher Turret, Thunderer Smoke Round
- 2018: MGX-42 Machine Gun, Combat difficulties 13, 14, and 15
- 2019: Proving Grounds game mode, 9 new Cape items, ability to randomize and favorite item loadouts
Apart from these rewards, Arrowhead would also host annual AMAs (ask me anything), giveaways, and game-streaming events on Liberty Day, and I don’t see any reason why this wouldn’t be the case for Helldivers 2.
There have been unofficial murmurs of some classic Helldiver gear coming back, possibly even the M2016 Constitution. This gun is a twist on the Space Garand M1 concept, which has also been adopted by Deep Rock Galactic. The baseline M1 Tactical armor set would be a good choice too, though you obviously want to take all of this with a pinch of salt.
Helldivers 2‘s first Liberty Day is set for celebration on October 26, so there's not too long to wait now. Let’s see what comes of it!
What You Will Learn
- Liberty Day is a fictional holiday celebrated on October 26 in Helldivers 2.
- The holiday is linked to both Starship Troopers and Johan Pilestedt's birthday.
- Previous Liberty Day updates included new gear, weapons, and game modes.
- Expect celebrations, gear returns, and possible AMAs for Liberty Day in Helldivers 2.
