Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! You'll be greeted by a familiar face if you log into Helldivers 2 just now, because the service technician aboard your Super Destroyer is once again reporting for duty. After taking some time away, she can be found hanging about in the lobby, maintaining all your guns and equipment. "Grateful to be back," she exclaims in some of her fresh dialogue. "And to have been gone. You learn a lot in professional development training, like how to create better documentation, and how to stay focused on a projector screen for hours at a time." It sounds riveting - better her than me. Sarah Elmaleh, the voice actor behind the character, marked her comeback to the multiplayer shooter on Instagram. "Sounds like the latest update has some staffing changes," she says. "So happy to be back in Helldivers 2. Love this game, love this team, love this character. Love to the devs for having me back; love to the players who missed her." Helldivers 2 writer had 7 days to find face of the franchise John Helldiver, the "most insincere" man in the galaxy All Helldivers 2 voice actors in the main cast and their roles Helldivers 2 boss says morale at Arrowhead is "much better now" following Into the Unjust blowback as "Steam score is trending upwards" and "development is progressing" A post shared by Sarah Elmaleh (@selmaleh)A photo posted by on A post shared by Sarah Elmaleh (@selmaleh)A photo posted by on A post shared by Sarah Elmaleh (@selmaleh) A photo posted by on While that utterly dull extended powerpoint is the in-universe reason she's been gone, in reality her absence aligns with the recent SAG-AFTRA video game strike. From July 2024 to July 2025, voice and motion capture actors in games struck against publishers over the potential use of AI in the industry. Around 2,600 people associated with motion capture and voice work were involved, no longer providing their talent until a new agreement was negotiated. The technician's disappearance probably coincided with when Arrowhead ran out of banked lines from Elmaleh, and it's taken until now for another batch to be written, recorded and added to the game. However it's come to pass, players are appropriately excited. "This is the best day of my democratic life!" proclaims a Redditor. "It's good to have her back on board," says another, while a third jokes about only hearing the "legends." Naturally, there's some strike-related humor mixed in here, too. "Apparently, non-compensated labor was what that strike was about, the one that some other service technicians got a little too interested in," the service technician states in another possible exchange. "The bad apples got re-educated, so it all worked out." Helldivers 2 grunts, your tank awaits: Completely "pancake" Automatons threatening democracy with "new heavy-hitting" Bastion Tank