Skip to main content

Helldivers 2’s fiery warbond is heating up the summer

A helldiver shooting a gun at a terminid, but it's shooting fire.
PlayStation

The new Helldivers 2 premium warbond is bringing a bit of a heat wave. Sony announced Freedom’s Flame in a PlayStation blog post on Tuesday, and it’s coming to the game on August 8 for the usual 1,000 super credits (around $10).

Like other warbonds, it’ll be adding a bunch of new weapons, armor, and skins. They’re often based around a theme, usually a specific weapon type or element. This time, it’s fire, which can roast the terminids but might be tougher to utilize against automatons and other mechanical threats.

Either way, the warbond will add two new primary weapons — the pump action shotgun SG-451 Cookout and the lightweight flamethrower FLAM-66 Torcher — and the secondary P-72 Crisper, a pistol-sized flamethrower. There are also two new armor sets: the I-09 Heatseeker and the I-102 Draconaught.

To go along with all that fire, the developers at Arrowhead Game Studios are adding an appropriate armor passive that brings 75% damage resistance to fire. While friendly fire is a part of the Helldiver life, this might make it less likely you’ll roast your teammates accidentally. And when you feel more comfortable in your fire usage, you can call yourself Fire Safety Officer with a new title.

Finally, the warbond has capes, a new vehicle orange skin, and some new emotes — including one that’s called Big Stretch and will hopefully turn your Helldiver into some sort of stretching cat.

Freedom’s Flame had previously been leaked by Sony, which pushed a notification that accidentally mentioned the new warbond and noted that it would feature “fiery weapons,” among other items.

Carli Velocci
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Frostpunk 2: release date, trailers, gameplay and more
A city in Frostpunk 2.

Winter, or should we say Frostpunk 2, is coming. The sequel to one of the most brutal takes on the city-building genre has been cooking for a long time, and fans have been eagerly anticipating any scrap of news about this chilling title. The original was one of the few games to mix survival and city simulation elements together, all wrapped up in a frozen backdrop that made every decision harrowing. So come, sit by the warmth of the furnace, and learn everything we know about Frostpunk 2.
Release date

Frostpunk 2 will launch on September 20 after getting a two-month delay from its original date of July 25, 2024.
Platforms
As of the time of this writing, Frostpunk 2 is only confirmed to be coming to PC. However, the original game was also a PC exclusive before later being ported to console, so it is possible the sequel will follow a similar staggered release schedule.
Trailers
Frostpunk 2 Announcement Trailer

Read more
New report claims the PlayStation VR2 is in serious trouble
A side view of the PlayStation VR2, which sits on a wood table.

There have been a lot of signs that Sony hasn't been investing a lot of resources into VR, specifically its PlayStation VR2 headset, and according to a new report, the situation might be worse than previously believed.

In an Android Central article published Thursday, sources said that Sony was slashing budgets related to VR and that there would be "very few opportunities for VR game development" in the future. Another source mentioned that there were only two PSVR2 games in development at the company.

Read more
Death Stranding 2: trailers, gameplay, and more
Sam Bridges walks on a ridge in front of the moon.

There were plenty of hints along the way, and even some leaks by the leading man himself, but it was only made official at the Game Awards 2022 that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is on its way. Coming from the same influential and creative mind as the original, as well as the Metal Gear franchise before it, Hideo Kojima introduced the game himself. Of course, nothing about Kojima's games are straight forward, and what was revealed about Death Stranding 2 probably raised more questions than it answered. We're strapping on our boots, connecting to our BBs, and are ready to make the trek to find out everything there is about Death Stranding 2.
Release date speculation

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach only has the wide release window of 2025.
Platforms

Read more