Helldivers 2 is facing another wave of negative reviews on Steam, and this isn’t the first time Arrowhead’s popular co-op shooter has found itself in this situation. Since its hugely successful launch in 2024, the game has been review-bombed on multiple occasions following decisions that frustrated parts of its community. This time, the backlash is mainly connected to a major change to the game’s anti-cheat system.

With the recent 7.2 Devoid of Liberty update, Arrowhead replaced GameGuard with Easy Anti-Cheat on PC. The developer says the change is intended to improve security and deal with cheat mods that can affect not only the person using them, but other players and even parts of the wider Galactic War.

Legitimate mods caught in the crossfire

The problem is that the switch has also affected legitimate mods that many players have been using for some time. Simple cosmetic modifications can still work in some cases, but mods that rely on scripts or make deeper changes to the game are being blocked. This includes Custom Galactic War, a major community project that offered features such as custom missions, maps, and multi-faction battles.

Players haven’t responded well to losing access to these mods. Helldivers 2 is now sitting at Mostly Negative for its recent Steam reviews, with only 38% of 9,619 reviews posted over the last 30 days being positive. Many of the newer negative reviews specifically criticize the Easy Anti-Cheat switch and its impact on modding.

Arrowhead has made it clear that it isn’t against modding altogether. The studio says it understands the importance of cosmetic and non-gameplay mods to PC gaming communities. However, it also wants to prevent modifications that provide unfair advantages or alter the experience for other people in a lobby. As a result, some harmless mods have also been caught up in the changes.

There are other complaints surrounding the latest update as well. For instance, some players have criticized the new Warbond, including claims that the R-40 Sightline was shown performing differently in promotional material than it does during actual gameplay.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.