Play. Freeze. Crash. Repeat.

Helldivers 2’s Into the Unjust update has introduced new underground missions against the Terminids, but the content has been met with mounting complaints about performance. The update, which launched with Patch 01.004.000 on 3 September, was intended to expand the game’s scope.

It adds more Terminids along with Hive Worlds, which are vast randomly-generated cave networks filled with the insectoid enemy type. Arrowhead described these environments as a new tactical challenge, complete with grotesque flora, hostile fauna, and more advanced strains of Terminid life.

Although the additions sound promising, the update quickly drew criticism across social media platforms and Steam communities as performance issues worsened after release. Players have reported frequent crashes, heavier stuttering, and poor optimisation, with frustration spilling across Reddit, Discord, and Steam reviews.

On Reddit, one frustrated player, astrills_no, summed up the mood with a blunt message: “Arrowhead this is unacceptable at this point.” In the same thread, they argued that the game has become “borderline unplayable because of optimisation for most people” and accused the latest patch of “causing more bugs while barely fixing anything that mattered.”

Other complaints centred on performance taking yet another hit, new content being locked behind progression instead of being available immediately, and fresh enemy types that feel unfair to fight. According to the post, these bug enemies have “perfect tracking” and are “almost undodgeable” without constant explosives. Extraction attempts were described as failing more than three-quarters of the time.

The user also questioned whether Arrowhead playtests Helldivers 2 at all before releasing updates, pointing to the studio’s decision not to prioritise a dedicated performance patch as a major misstep. In their words, choosing to push out new content over addressing long-standing technical issues is “the dumbest *** **** thing I’ve ever heard.”

Some others commented on the same post that one of the most prominent bugs is the annoying audio bug across platforms, which makes it hard for them to figure out if they still have ammo.

Arrowhead has previously cautioned on Discord that it would not be releasing a “performance-only” update, instead rolling fixes into regular patches. However, repeated assurances without visible improvements have left large portions of the community sceptical. One widely upvoted post by Substantial-Ad-5221 summed up the mood: “Arrowhead, this is just not working.”

The user said that while they “want to enjoy” the new content, technical problems are “ramping up again.”

They criticised the patch for including too few bug fixes and doubted that a major improvement would arrive alongside the upcoming Warbond, citing Arrowhead’s “current track record.” A key issue, they argued, is that the studio does not plan dedicated performance updates but instead bundles fixes with new content; a cycle the user described as “technical debt.”

According to the post, Helldivers 2 has fallen into a loop: new content arrives, fresh bugs and broken systems appear, small hotfixes follow, and the cycle repeats. Long-standing problems remain unsolved, with the player pointing out that “the Strategem bounce is STILL not fixed” months after being flagged.

The same post listed ongoing frustrations ranging from glitches, crashes, and FPS drops to the game’s large file size on PC. They urged Arrowhead to shift its priorities: “Please focus on performance after this Major Update. I fear this will end badly for the game otherwise in the long run.”

On X, some players turned to offering technical workarounds instead of criticism. One user, Evil Mark, shared a fix for severe PC crashes and freezes. 

They advised players to disable Steam Cloud for Helldivers 2, delete the contents of the Arrowhead AppData folder, and then relaunch the game. “If you don’t get any more freezes you can turn back on Steam Cloud for it,” they explained, adding that corrupted files may persist even after validation because Steam Cloud “is actually backing up corrupted files.”

While many players still enjoy the co-operative chaos at the heart of Helldivers 2, patience is wearing thin. 

The Into the Unjust update may have expanded the battlefield, but it has also reignited questions about whether Arrowhead can deliver a smoother, more reliable experience. For now, the studio is under pressure to prove its upcoming fixes will finally be enough.