Key Highlights:
- Helldivers 2 launches its Festival of Reckoning once again.
- This holiday themed event has a lot to offer, including event Stratagems.
- The event will be live until December 31, 2025.
The festive season is almost upon us, and we’re nearing the holidays, just in time for a few celebratory events. Helldivers 2’s Arrowhead Game Studios has a lot planned for players ahead of this update, and we will be listing everything to know about the Festival of Reckoning in the sections below.
When Does Helldivers 2’s Festival of Reckoning Begin?
The Festival of Reckoning begins starting December 18, 2025 for all supported platforms. This includes the PlayStation 5, PC and more recently – the Xbox Series X/S consoles.
This particular winter festive events begin at around the following timings worldwide:
- 2 AM PT
- 10 AM GMT
- 11 AM CET
- 7 PM JST
The event is expected to remain live until December 31, 2025 after which we enter into the new year of 2026 and a brand new chapter for Helldivers 2. As mentioned earlier, the end date will have the following timings to refer to:
- 2:59 PM PT
- 10:59 PM GMT
- 11:59 PM CET
- 7:59 AM JST (January 1, 2026)
As always, expect there to be differing release timings and schedules, depending on your local region and/or time zone of choice. Take this into account before proceeding with the event further.
All New Additions With Helldivers 2 Festival of Reckoning
The Festival of Reckoning is a holiday themed event, with plenty of celebration and fun little quirks to go around with. To celebrate the winter holidays, there will be a series of Major Orders that can be completed to access a series of Stratagems, which can be deployed on the field.
While there have only been a grand total of 3 Stratagems on show during the trailer, we’re pretty sure Arrowhead Game Studios has a lot more on offer. That being said, here’s what we know of the Stratagems so far:
| Stratagem | Effect | Other Details |
|---|---|---|
| 120 mm EMS Projectile | Throws 120 mm shells that detonate electromagnetic pulses to stun enemies | Likely more useful against Automatons |
| Gatling Barrage Projectile | Unlike a regular gatling gun, replaces the usual rounds with explosive, incendiary shells that deal fire DoT | Great against Bugs |
| Walking Smoke Barrage | Throws smoke in an AoE, limiting enemy vision and movement; mostly situational | Mediocre and low priority |
The official Helldivers 2 blog has also explicitly mentioned that these holiday Major Orders will not have any sort of paywall associated with them. In other words, no Stratagem will be off limits during the holiday season.
Also Read: NVIDIA To Shift Focus From Gaming To AI In 2026
Players will be able to access both Premium and free Stratagems freely during this time period, albeit in a limited fashion. The game will also announce in-game dispatches to mark whenever a celebratory Major Order is activated, and thus players can flock to the place and grab the festive Stratagem as soon as possible.
What To Expect From The Event
This is an online-only event, and requires a persistent internet connection, much like the rest of Helldivers 2. Additionally, players will also require a copy of Helldivers 2 on PC, PS5 or Xbox in order to be able to participate, as the game isn’t free to play.
Those on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S will need requisite subscriptions to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass in order to access online services.
As usual, those on PC will not require any such prerequisite payments to play the event, which is a massive advantage of the platform.
