Arrowhead Reacts to Fortnite's New Alien Bug Season, Says It's Giving "We Have Helldivers at Home"

Fortnite's New Season, Helldivers 2

The newest season of Fortnite has players battling swarms of insect-like alien enemies, and for many fans, the setup feels a little too familiar. These "Bugs" bear a striking resemblance to the insectoid foes from Helldivers 2, sparking playful comparisons across the gaming community.

Even Arrowhead Game Studios, the developer of Helldivers 2, has joined the conversation. Community manager Katherine "Baskinator" Baskin jokingly remarked on the game’s official Discord, "Hmmm… it’s giving ‘we have Helldivers at home’", before clarifying that she’s not concerned about the similarities.

"Fortnite is Fortnite, Helldivers is Helldivers," she said. "If the kings of video game drip think our drip is cool enough to inspire them, then that’s super cool. But our games couldn’t be more different from one another. There’s room for us all at the king’s table."

Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani also weighed in, describing the season as feeling "very democratic," a nod to Helldivers 2’s satirical political setting, the "Great Democratization." However, he admitted he doesn’t play Fortnite, adding with a laugh that "the building does my head in," preferring to stick to Helldivers and Battlefield.

According to Videogamer, the new Fortnite season, officially called Shock N’ Awesome, has been raising eyebrows since its reveal trailer. Even well-known leaker ShiinaBR said the update "screams Helldivers collab." The insect enemies, dubbed The Swarm, the Queen, and the Bomber, have a strong resemblance to Helldivers 2’s Terminids. Fans have been filling the trailer’s comment section with lines like "Super Earth should deploy some Helldivers for this bug infestation."

Despite the chatter, Epic Games has not hinted at any official crossover. Historically, Fortnite has borrowed ideas and aesthetics from a wide range of games, movies, and pop culture, either through collaborations or by adding its own spin. In this case, the update blends bug-fighting chaos with the franchise’s trademark mix of outrageous characters, including Power Rangers, Halo Spartans, and a humanoid panda.

Early player reception seems positive. Epic Games reported that more than 250 million Bugs have already been eliminated since the update launched last week.

Meanwhile, Helldivers 2 is set to launch on Xbox later this month, and the studio seems content to let Fortnite do its own thing.