Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios is teasing an upcoming crossover with the Halo franchise in a new video promoting the co-op multiplayer space shooter’s impending release on Xbox. At the end of a new teaser trailer that prominently features Christian rap metal band POD, we get a big shift in musical tone with a jazzy motif from the Halo 3: ODST soundtrack.
We also see what appears to be an M8900 Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle, the drop pod preferred by Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, landing in a Helldivers 2 mega city. That’s a pretty clear hint that something Halo 3: ODST-related is coming to Helldivers 2 in the coming weeks.
Arrowhead previously mined Guerrilla Games’ Killzone franchise for a Helldivers 2 crossover, bringing the franchise’s Helghast armor and other cosmetics to the game this past December. Despite Helldivers 2‘s popularity (and no doubt plenty of opportunities for additional crossovers), Arrowhead has shied away from exploiting outside properties for its game to “avoid IP dilution.”
Arrowhead chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt has previously said which external IP he’d be interested in bringing in to Helldivers 2, which includes sci-fi fare like Aliens, Terminator, Blade Runner, and (of course) Starship Troopers. Pilestedt said last year in a post on Reddit that he’d generally “draw the line” between bringing game properties into Helldivers 2 somewhere between Halo in general and making Master Chief playable in the game.
If Halo 3: ODST‘s troopers do come to Helldivers 2, it will likely come in the form of armor sets and weapons, as well as cosmetic items like flags and capes.
Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Series X on Aug. 26. (That’s the same day that Gears of War makes its debut on PlayStation with Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the first game.)
