The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing at an event in Utah this week is having a profound impact on the gaming industry.
Just this week we reported how a social media gag by a Sucker Punch employee may have led to their immediate dismissal.
And now it’s emerged that bullet casings discovered near the crime scene included a purported reference to Helldivers 2.
According to a police statement, one of the bullet casings found included an engraving of the words “Hey, fascists! Catch!” followed by the code Up Right Down Down Down.
Mainstream media hypothesised that this may be referencing some kind of cheat code, but PlayStation fans will know it’s the exact same input required to launch the Eagle 500kg Bomb stratagem in Helldivers 2.
The Arrowhead developed sequel requires you to input commands like these in order to launch special attacks in the game. It’s one of the trademark features that carried across from the original Helldivers to its sequel.
As a result of the discovery, the Helldivers Reddit page has been temporarily closed while moderators discuss how to deal with the sudden influx of chatter about the topic.
It’s worth noting that it’s not known for sure whether the accused shooter intended to reference Helldivers 2 or if this is just a big coincidence, but we’d be shocked if it’s the latter.