Helldivers 2 Theory Suggests A Bleak Future For Everyone On Super Earth

On the surface, "Helldivers 2" is a pretty straightforward game about killing bugs and robots while spreading democracy throughout the galaxy. If you dig just a little deeper, however, you'll uncover a sea of unanswered mysteries surrounding just about every aspect of the game. It turns out that by fighting the bugs, we Helldivers might have made the galaxy worse. The history and creation of the Automatons might have massive implications for the future of Super Earth. When everything is said and done, the basic reality of being a Helldiver might really be a veil of lies. It also seems like the civilians on Super Earth don't have much hope, either. 

The beauty of the mysteries in "Helldivers 2" is that they span every planet, ship, and UI screen in the game, so no matter what you're doing in a particular session, you're likely to stumble into another unexpected piece of intrigue. At a certain point, it becomes hard to decide which secret detail in the game is the darkest. As hilarious as "Helldivers 2" is, the world of the game is actually terrifying. For instance, fans have discovered an audio clip that occasionally plays when you're on board a destroyer, and it has them very worried about the average citizens of Super Earth.

Goofy advertisements and over-the-top public service announcements are a key part of the worldbuilding in "Helldivers 2." Some of the game's trailers even functioned as in-universe recruiting ads for the Helldivers. Today's ad in question, however, isn't aimed directly at the Helldivers at all, which means it's a little strange that we get to hear it in the first place.

The ad is just a brief audio clip meant as a call to action for the elderly citizens of Super Earth. It says, "Too old to be productive? Consider volunteering for an early trip to the bio-repurposer vats." Did you just feel a chill run down your spine?

We aren't sure exactly what the bio-repurposer vats are, but they sound absolutely horrifying. What's equally as haunting is the way this ad apparently frames the value of human life. "Helldivers 2" gets a ton of satirical mileage out of taking capitalism to its darkly logical conclusion, so of course Super Earth only sees people as valuable if they have the potential to serve the empire. Once a person's utility in the field is out of the question, it seems like the government has a way to get one last bit of material value out of them.

So far, the game hasn't given us any concrete information about the bio-repurposer vats. "Helldivers 2" typically leaves plenty of room for fans to theorize and come up with their own awful versions of reality, and that's exactly what's been happening with this little detail. Some are jumping to the most obvious conclusion: Super Earth is eating its elderly. It's a story as old as "Soylent Green" or older, and considering that the Helldivers need a massive food supply to carry out war in the far reaches of the galaxy, it makes disgusting sense that Super Earth would recycle people in this way.

Still, maybe the bio-repurposer vaults aren't turning old people into food. They could also be using the bodies of the elderly as raw material for new weapons, or even clones. After all, Super Earth requires an endless supply of Helldivers, and volunteers can only get the government so far. Of course, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt has previously shot down the theory that all Helldivers are clones, but that doesn't mean Super Earth won't consider that tactic in the future.

We might not ever get any solid answers about these vaults, but we'd like to leave you with one more dark detail to think about: Remember that the advertisement says "Consider volunteering for an early trip to the bio-repurposer vaults." Doesn't that seem to imply that, volunteer or no, everyone will end up in the vaults at some point? Sleep tight, Helldivers.