Arrowhead Game Studios just dropped Helldiver 2's final content roadmap for the year, and it didn't take long for fans to notice the Grand Theft Auto-sized hole the developers suspiciously left out. For starters, September gets a new Warbond, October gets Update 7.2, and December gets the big Update 8.0. There's nothing scheduled for November. It's a blank space, sitting right when and where Grand Theft Auto VI will launch.
The community connected the dots in about five seconds, and it certainly didn't hurt that the developers were sort of blunt about it on the game's official server in a reply screen shotted and shared on Reddit.
Honestly, who can blame them? Whereas other studios are avoiding GTA 6 entirely, Arrowhead, known for their light-hearted and community-centric take on video game development, is instead diving headfirst towards the biggest game of the decade. Except, instead of the game itself, it's the developers who are probably taking it easy this November just so they can take in the Vice City scenery and what else Leonida has to offer.
Helldivers 2's roadmap through the end of 2026
Month | On the roadmap |
|---|---|
September | A new Warbond |
October | Update 7.2 and another Warbond |
November | Nothing |
December | Major Update 8.0 |
Arrowhead's plan for the rest of the year, with one very conspicuous gap.
It's a joke, of course. Arrowhead has officially confirmed clearing November for anything, and the studio has a well-documented feast-and-famine rhythm where quiet months just happen. The roadmap even keeps three straight months of Warbonds rolling through October before the gap opens up, but a live-service game leaving a hole in its calendar in the exact month the biggest release of the decade arrives is a little too on the nose to ignore.
Besides, as we've already mentioned, November is a genuine black hole this year. GTA 6 arrives on November 19, and it is already bending everything around it. Pre-orders spiked nearly 600% on PlayStation off a single Netflix show, resulting in a more expensive PS5 Pro selling out nationwide. Whole businesses are cutting their hours or shutting down for launch day so staff can play, and a 78-year-old grandmother bought an Xbox just for it. A studio quietly taking the month easy would only make them the most self-aware people in the room.
It helps that Arrowhead has never pretended otherwise. CEO Shams Jorjani said earlier that he was actually glad GTA 6 is skipping PC and launching without an online mode, since it leaves Helldivers 2 room to keep thriving in its own lane while Rockstar Games swallows the single-player console world for a few weeks.
Translation: Arrowhead sees the wave coming, they are steering around it, and enjoying the scenery while they're at it.