Helldivers 2 players “became obsessed” with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth’s bloodiest battles

If you’ve been playing Helldivers 2 since it first launched last year, then there’s a good chance you’re a veteran of Malevelon Creek. Dubbed “robot Vietnam” due to its dense jungle and intense fights, those early days of the game when our stratagems were weaker and we hadn’t unlocked all the ship modules were brutally difficult. But do you remember Mort? And do you know why Gabe Newell almost lost it for Super Earth?

At a recent GDC talk, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt remembers Malevelon Creek and Mort. “Mort was a planet that we just made, and we didn’t care too much about it, but the community cared greatly,” Pilestedt says. It wasn’t essential for winning the Galactic War, we just didn’t want to lose the fight there after taking such a battering on Malevelon Creek.