This week, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead released a new cape, free to all players, to mark what it’s called 'Malevelon Creek Memorial Day.' Now, a subset of the game’s community is threatening to teamkill players who wear it, seemingly because they don’t like the focus on Malevelon Creek itself.
First, some background: on April 1, Arrowhead delivered a new Major Order to Helldivers 2 players giving them a 24-hour window to finally take back Malevelon Creek, the Automaton map dubbed ‘Space Vietnam’ by fans. The planet was liberated in only about five hours.
Then, on April 2, Arrowhead launched a new Major Order to fend off the Automaton counterattack. This includes two new and terrifying Automaton enemies, dropped into the game without fanfare by Arrowhead for players to discover.
A day later, Arrowhead released the cape, called Fallen Hero’s Vengeance, alongside an in-universe statement: "By Presidential Decree, the President of Super Earth has officially recognized this day as Malevelon Creek Memorial Day. This week, in remembrance, all Helldivers will be issued a special commemorative cape, so they may carry the memory of their fallen companions into battle."
That, you would think, would be that, but some Helldivers 2 have taken to social media, the game’s subreddit and Discord to issue a kill-on-sight order for any player wearing the Fallen Hero’s Vengeance, and it appears to have something to do with apparent hate for 'Creekers.'
Malevelon Creek is undoubtedly Helldivers 2’s most high-profile map. It’s become the focal point for the ongoing meta narrative Arrowhead does such an impressive job of leading, with various community challenges to fight back against the dreaded Automatons issued since Helldivers 2's explosive launch. Malevelon Creek and its ‘Space Vietnam’ nickname have spawned a number of memes, mostly focused on the sheer number of player deaths that have occurred on the planet. The release of the new cape was seen by some as Arrowhead leaning into the fun.
Some players continue to play Malevelon Creek despite new community challenges calling for Helldivers to liberate other planets. These players, dubbed ‘Creekers’, have caused a minor kerfuffle within the community because they focus on just one planet and ignore the wider Galactic War. It’s worth noting there is no evidence to suggest this has had any impact on Helldivers 2’s meta narrative so far, but it’s become something of a talking point nonetheless. And so, some ‘anti-Creekers’ are now saying they’re going to kick or teamkill players who wear the Malevelon Creek Memorial Day cape.
“Extremely cool and normal reactions to getting a free cape,” said redditor DeadGripThe2nd. “Can we not do this kind of stuff?” “Imagine getting upset and gatekeeping people over an item literally everybody got for free,” added Flashfall. “I’m planning to get married in this cape. IRL,” joked Sebulano.
In any case, the Automaton-focused Major Order is now successfully complete, and a new Automaton Major Order has taken its place. This one calls for an “all-out push” to eradicate the Automatons. Malevelon Creek is not one of the planets that must be liberated.
If you’re looking for more on Helldivers 2, check out IGN’s feature on the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2, a player who has answered over 100 SOS Beacons as part of a mission to help others.
Helldivers 2 has become one of the surprise hits of 2024 since launching in February, topping the charts on Steam and reportedly selling around three million copies. According to at least one analyst, it's still growing. Check out IGN's Helldivers 2 review to find out why it's going down so well.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
