Arrowhead plans hotfix to restore some cosmetic mods after Helldivers 2 anti-cheat backlash

Arrowhead Game Studios is preparing a hotfix that should re-enable some cosmetic mods in Helldivers 2, following a wave of negative Steam reviews after the switch to Easy Anti-Cheat.

The developer moved from GameGuard to Easy Anti-Cheat to combat mods that give players unfair advantages or disrupt others. However, the change also broke mods that Arrowhead considers harmless, like cosmetic add-ons. The news triggered over 10,000 negative Steam reviews, pushing the game's recent rating to "mostly negative."

In a developer blog, Arrowhead explained that Easy Anti-Cheat was added to reduce the number of cheaters ruining missions. The team acknowledged that the change disabled some fan-made mods and has been reviewing how code changes affected cosmetic, non-gameplay mods. "This has resulted in adjustments that should allow some cosmetic mods to be functional with our next hotfix," the blog stated.

Arrowhead emphasized that gameplay-altering mods will remain banned, as they are technically indistinguishable from cheating attempts. The studio also addressed community frustration over delayed features, including hellpod steering and stratagem bouncing improvements, and apologized for an inaccurate roadmap that oversold bug caves as a new biome.

Looking ahead to early December, Arrowhead detailed several upcoming improvements: mobility packs will work with two-handed items, the Hellbomb backpack can be armed or picked up with a long press, gas clouds will no longer slow Helldivers, a new utility belt will allow carrying small handheld items alongside support weapons, new terminal puzzles are being added, and SEAF forces will be able to open bunkers with players.