Helldivers 2 dev says melee weapons are "still branded plausible," and now I'm dreaming of duking it out with an Automaton Hulk with a giant sword of my own

Melee weapons are still on the table for co-op shooter Helldivers 2, and now I'm imagining futures spent slicing space crabs and parrying chainsaw-armed robots. 

Helldivers 2 has evolved an impressive amount since its deployment in early February, with developer Arrowhead Studios introducing giant rideable mechs, new weapons, and an evolving narrative that shifts depending on player behavior. But players are still asking about melee weapons. 

On the Helldivers 2 Discord channel, one diver asked whether melee weapons and armor dyes were still on the table since there hadn't been an update on either for a month. "What happened? Well, it's been a month, not a year," community manager Twinbeard responded with a winking face emoji. 

"It might still happen. As you know, we've been fairly busy the past month," he continued, likely referring to the recent Democratic Demolition Warbond that already added extra toys, as well as the evolving Helldivers 2 players versus Automaton narrative. Regardless, melee weapons are "still branded plausible."

Thinking about melee options - the potential katanas, lightsaber rip-offs, dual chainsaw sticks - is definitely exciting, though I'm also interested to see how such weapons fit into the game. Would they fill a support weapon slot? Primary? A pocket knife as a secondary weapon? 

Helldivers 2 has joined PlayStation's pantheon of blockbusters with its massive success, meaning the shooter is here to stay. Plus, players have already been itching for a proper melee option as one Helldiver punched their way through hundreds of space bugs in protest. Melee weapons seem like a certainty - the only question now is when?

Helldivers 2 dev suggests restarting the game to fix an issue with a pricey ship module upgrade.

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