As it turns out, the biggest Xbox game of the summer may not be Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded 2 or the exciting remaster Gears of War: Reloaded. Instead, I have a feeling that it’s going to be Helldivers 2 — PlayStation Studios and Arrowhead Game Studios’ critically acclaimed third-person co-op shooter that took gaming communities by storm last year.
Though it’s been exclusive to PS5 and Windows PC since its launch in early February 2024, Sony announced a surprising decision to bring the hit live-service title to Xbox in late August back in July. Now, its scheduled August 26 release date is just one week out, and when the Xbox port drops, it will be accompanied by a hotly anticipated Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST crossover.
The collab will come in the form of a special $15 (1,500 Super Credits; notably, you can earn these in gameplay) Legendary Warbond battle pass that features ODST and Recon armor sets inspired by kit from 2009’s Halo 3: ODST — the Halo spin-off centered around the ODST soldiers that bear striking similarities to Helldiver troops.
A variety of other Halo-themed items will be featured in the Warbond, too, such as a slew of cosmetics like capes and player backgrounds as well as — more notably — a collection of iconic weapons from Xbox’s flagship FPS series. These include the MA5C Assault Rifle, the M7S SMG, the M90A Shotgun, and the M6C/SOCOM Magnum…and with the M6C, developer Arrowhead has referenced a unique Halo easter egg while simultaneously putting its own spin on it.
The easter egg in question is a recurring one from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3, and Halo 3: ODST in which developers at Bungie, the original studio behind the franchise, stamped Japanese, Chinese, and Korean characters for the number seven on the in-game models of the classic Magnum pistol.
For whatever reason, seven is Bungie’s favorite number, and as such, it’s featured prominently throughout its games (including Halo, Destiny 2, and others). The studio even celebrates July 7 (7/7) as Bungie Day annually.
Halo 3: ODST’s Magnum had two Korean symbols on the right side of its laser sight that stand for the number seven, and when Arrowhead recreated it for the upcoming Helldivers 2 crossover, it printed Korean characters on the new model’s laser sight as well — evidenced by a close look at the weapon given in the collab’s trailer (also visible in the image above).
But hilariously, instead of using the original characters that Bungie used, Arrowhead instead stamped “자유” on the M6C/SOCOM — characters of the Korean Hangul alphabet that represent the word “freedom.”
Clearly, this is poking fun at Super Earth’s hyper-militarized fascist government that asserts total control over humanity with “Managed Democracy” under the guise of protecting freedom and liberty, and I love that Helldivers 2 is continuing Bungie’s tradition while making it fit into its world in a subtle, yet amusing way.
Everything else from the crossover looks awesome, too, and I’m excited for it to come out next week so I can take a closer look at everything it offers to see what other nifty details there are to find. Given that Arrowhead promises that it’s “packed with details that fans will love to discover,” I have high hopes for at least a few more.
As big of an event as this Helldivers x Halo collab is for all of its players is, though, Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox on the same day will undoubtedly make an even bigger splash. Gamers on Microsoft’s consoles have been hoping for a port of the co-op shooter since the day it came out — there’s so much interest that Halo Infinite Forgers even made a custom Helldivers mode — but the chances of one coming seemed extremely slim due to PlayStation only bringing its games to PC.
This Helldivers 2 port, though, marks the first time that’s changed, with Sony likely persuaded to dip its toes in Team Green waters after the immense success of Forza Horizon 5 on PS5. Indeed, this year’s best-selling PS5 game is by Xbox. Could we see Helldivers 2 become the best-selling Xbox game of 2025 in kind?
I’m not sure, but what I do know is that Helldivers 2 will stand as one of the best Xbox games for co-op fans once it’s out on August 26. After playing over 500 hours of the bombastic shooter, I can say with confidence that it’s my favorite PvE multiplayer title to enjoy with friends, and a must-play if you like action-packed, teamwork-driven gameplay.
The game is typically $39.99, though you can get it for less on Windows PC thanks to a cool deal that brings it down to $33.69 at CDKeys.
