As of August 26, 2025, the fight for Super Earth has officially come to Xbox Series X/S. Along with an entire galaxy in the midst of a never-ending three-pronged war, Helldivers 2 has presented new (and old) recruits with an all-timer of a Legendary Warbond, one that finally brings a dream Helldivers 2 crossover to life.
Available for 1,500 Super Credits, Helldivers 2's Halo: ODST Warbond brings a wealth of Halo-themed goodies to the live-service shooter, including armor sets based on Halo 3: ODST's Rookie and Dare, and a handful of iconic weapons from the franchise like the MA5C Assault Rifle and the M90A Shotgun. But while this Legendary Warbond is the main event of Helldivers 2's Halo crossover, the references run far deeper.
Helldivers 2's Halo Crossover Goes Beyond a Warbond
Helldivers 2's Latest City Operation References Halo Reach
Located in the Cancri Sector on the edges of Illuminate-controlled space, there's a planet called Seyshel Beach. This planet is currently the site of a major defensive operation by the forces of Super Earth, and the majority of forces are being directed to a city named 'New Alexandria'.
While Mega Cities have been present in Helldivers 2 since May, New Alexandria is a brand-new addition to the galaxy. And given the timing of the city's appearance, it appears to be another reference to Xbox's flagship franchise.
New Alexandria is a key location in 2010's Halo Reach. Players visit the sprawling city of New Alexandria twice during Halo Reach's campaign, during the missions 'Exodus' and 'New Alexandria', with the former being memorable for its jetpack sections and the latter for its Falcon-based gameplay and Pelican/Phantom Easter egg. New Alexandria also gets some play in Halo Reach's multiplayer mode, where it's used as the basis for the maps 'Boardwalk' and 'Reflection', and the Firefight map 'Beachhead'.
Helldivers 2's New Alexandria Gives Off Some Serious Halo Vibes
But Helldivers 2's New Alexandria seems to be an homage in more than name alone. The Mega City itself looks heavily inspired by the architectural designs of Halo Reach's New Alexandria and Halo 3: ODST's New Mombasa. Tall, sleek skyscrapers fill the wide city streets that are lined with abandoned futuristic cars, and neon billboards and gigantic military-themed flags hang from most buildings.
The citizens of Helldivers 2's New Alexandria are also putting up a fight. Civilians run away from the chaos of the urban battlefield while SEAF (Super Earth Armed Forces) soldiers attempt to hold the alien invaders at bay. Equipped with assault rifles and occasionally rocket launchers, these SEAF soldiers follow players through the city streets, providing firing support and delivering a few excited exclamations on the rare occasion they manage to take down a hulking enemy soldier. Fighting alongside these SEAF soldiers feels eerily similar to fighting side-by-side with Halo's UNSC Marines.
To really top off the homage, Helldivers 2's New Alexandria city operation also has you fighting against the Illuminate, an alien species that relies heavily on energy shields. Though the visual design of the Illuminate is very different from any of the members of Halo's Covenant, fighting them does feel familiar, with players needing to break the Illuminate's shields with energy weapons first before unloading traditional kinetic rounds into them.
According to Helldivers 2's in-game countdown, players might only have until 5:40am ET on August 28 to defend New Alexandria for themselves.
When players are fully kitted-out in Helldivers 2's ODST armor, they're wielding the MA5C Assault Rifle, and they're fighting energy-shielded aliens in a futuristic metropolis called New Alexandria, Helldivers 2 really starts to feel like a spiritual successor to Halo 3: ODST.
Helldivers 2
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
