Helldivers 2 dev made a donation to Save the Children because players chose to save the children

It turns out even slightly mean philosophical pranks by the developers of satirical wargames can have a heartwarming ending. Last week, Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios issued players with a new Major Order, and a stark moral choice: save a hospital of sick kids from an army of killer robots, or earn the cool anti-tank mines they’ve always wanted (at the third time of asking).

En masse, players selflessly chose the sick kids, and now they get their just reward: feeling good about themselves. Arrowhead’s chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt revealed on X that the studio had made a $4,311 donation to Save the Children to commemorate the community’s in-game generosity.

The good vibes continued within the game lore, too. The studio’s official Helldivers 2 account shared an adorable sketch of a smiling child holding hands with a Helldiver (next to a burning alien skull) and the following in-fiction message:

Dear Helldivers,

Thank you so much for saving us. They told us you made a lot of sacrifices (mines/lives) to help us. We’ll always be grateful. Now, we can grow up to become Helldivers too.

With Liberty,
The Very Sick Children of Super Citizen Anne’s

Aww. That warm fuzzy feeling you’re getting is worth more than a fake video game anti-tank mine, right?

Right?