Helldivers 2 Creator Program Sparks Backlash: Is Arrowhead Controlling the Narrative?

Helldivers 2 somehow speedran the jump from satire to self-own. The studio launched a creator program called 'Propaganda Commanders' and then, in record time, turned it into a vibe that feels uncomfortably like policing the message. The timing could not be worse: Liberty Day is October 26, player counts are trending down, and the team just pushed content back to fix performance issues from the Into the Unjust update in early September. If you were writing a how-to on torching goodwill, this would be the chapter outline.

The spark: a 7-second clip and the eject button

On October 10, Arrowhead removed creator LtBuzzLitebeer from the program. The reason: he declined to cut a 7-second segment from his October 9 video that showed YouTube search results with clickbait thumbnails while he read aloud from a piece debunking those rumors. The kicker is he was defending the studio, calling out AI-generated thumbnails and manufactured hype, and trying to temper expectations for his 353K+ subscribers. Program management told him to remove that clip. He politely said no on principle. They booted him.

Yes, the game that spoofs state propaganda allegedly dinged a creator for pointing at actual clickbait and saying 'don’t fall for this.' The irony is so thick you could brick a GPU with it.

Zoom out: this wasn’t a one-off

Once you look past Buzz, it gets worse. There’s a whole string of creator frustrations, delays, and in some cases, literal hardware damage tied to playing and streaming this thing. The pattern is ugly, and it has receipts.

• Eravin’s year-long slow-roll (2024–2025): Reached out multiple times in 2024 about joining the program and got no reply. In February 2025, despite being top 12 by viewership, he was not invited to the Sweden headquarters trip. Publicly, Arrowhead folks said things like 'we have plans for you, we love that guy.' Privately, one DM on February 11 said 'goddamn do they hate me for not inviting you' and promised to sort it. He was redirected to a third-party manager who kept delaying for months. In July 2025, after all that waiting, he was told his 'attitude' disqualified him. He was then asked to 'rehabilitate disposition' for six weeks after venting frustration. He did it. He was then ghosted while brand-new creators were added. In October 2025, he announced he is retiring his Helldivers-themed VTuber model and scaling back Helldivers content.
• Hardware hits while streaming: On August 31, creator Claysthetics says a GameGuard memory dump killed his Samsung 870 EVO 4TB SSD (a $290–$415 part) and wiped archived content. On October 15, creator OhDough reports a hard lock that bricked his AMD Ryzen 9 9800X3D, forcing a full CPU replacement. Others, like Takibo and Phase Shifter, have been dealing with persistent screen tearing and hard locks that cut streams short.
• Perks that tilt the playing field: Program members get free, instantly unlocked Warbonds (hours of grind skipped right when viewership peaks), a heads-up on update timing so they can be live the second the algorithm pops, NDA access to patch notes, direct dev channels, and official boosts on Arrowhead’s socials. Outside creators competing during Warbond launches and big updates don’t get any of that, then get told it’s their attitude, not the deck, that’s the problem.

The part where leadership chimes in and makes it messier

Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani finally addressed the situation on Discord and said the creator program is run by a partner. His line that stuck out:

'Check in there and see what’s what'

That landed like a lead balloon. Either Arrowhead didn’t know a partner using Arrowhead branding was handing out NDAs, controlling privileged information, and flying creators to Sweden while also excluding some of the game’s most watched voices... or the 'partner' is a convenient way to avoid owning the decisions. The community isn’t buying either explanation right now. People are openly skeptical about how independent this partner really is when the program is called 'Propaganda Commanders' and operates under studio banners.

Why the timing is catastrophic

October 26’s Liberty Day needs to hit big. The studio already had to pause content updates to patch performance problems introduced by Into the Unjust in early September, the Rupture Strain removal is still a sore spot, and player numbers are sliding. Now, some of the loudest cheerleaders are either retiring their Helldivers personas or being removed for calling out obvious nonsense. Who exactly is supposed to hype the next drop?

The bigger picture

The standard for staying in the program sure looks less about viewership, quality, or community value and more about not speaking up. Buzz has a full-time job and calls YouTube his passion project. Eravin literally pioneered 'Ghostdivers' stealth tactics and built massive guides that helped thousands. Both added measurable value to the game’s ecosystem. Both hit a wall when they wouldn’t keep quiet about problems that affect their work.

So, is this just messy mismanagement or intentional gatekeeping with a veneer of plausible deniability? And if a studio’s brand is plastered all over a program that hands out NDAs and insider access, shouldn’t the studio have direct, transparent oversight?