Helldivers 2’s long-awaited collaboration with Halo 3: ODST finally seems to be happening

It appears that some sort of Halo crossover could be coming to Helldivers 2. A brief tease at the end of a new trailer for Helldivers 2’s Xbox port suggests that such a collaboration is on the way.

Previously, Helldivers 2 crossed over with PlayStation’s sci-fi shooter franchise Killzone. It makes sense that the game would do the same thing alongside its long-awaited release on Xbox.

How was a Helldivers 2 collaboration with Halo teased?

A throwback to Halo 3: ODST

Ahead of Helldivers 2’s August 26 launch on Xbox (it’s unfortunately not going to be on Game Pass), a new “Bring the Boom” trailer was released. It’s a pretty standard launch trailer with licensed music for the most part, but at the end, there’s a brief musical tease of Halo 3: ODST’s main theme as some new players drop onto the surface of a rainy planet.

Arrowhead Game Studios, Sony, and Xbox Game Studios have not commented on this tease, but it’s very clear that this is setting up a long-awaited crossover between Helldivers 2 and Halo 3: ODST. It’s something I would never have seen coming ahead of the game’s launch a year and a half ago.

Helldivers 2 was released for PC and PS5 in February 2024 and quickly became a surprise hit. Its bombastic and unforgiving combat created some absolutely ridiculous and memorable moments only rivaled by Battlefield, and its Major Order system makes a massive community of players always feel like they are working together.

Since launch, the game has received a healthy amount of support. New weapons, vehicles, and enemies have come to the game for free, while paid Warbonds have served as Helldivers 2’s version of the battle pass system to keep people playing.

The Killzone collaboration took place last December and brought a mix of free and paid content with it. There were helmets, armor, and capes based on items and characters from the Killzone series, as well as a unique Player Card and title for purchase.

While it’s unknown what the collaboration with Halo will look like exactly at this time, it’s safe to assume that the crossover will be similar and have items based on Halo 3: ODST. That game, which was an expansion for the third game in Microsoft’s popular sci-fi series, focused on a group of shock troopers that aren’t nearly as powerful as Master Chief.

Arrowhead Game Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt previously suggested that a Halo 3: ODST crossover was more likely than one featuring Master Chief. He explained on Reddit that crossovers need to feel appropriate to Helldivers as an IP because the developers want them to be canon and not immersion-breaking.

As the premise of Helldivers 2 has some similarities to Halo 3: ODST, it’s fitting that that crossover finally seems to be a reality.