Helldivers 2 is the calm before the storm. Operation Swift Demolition was a success and the automatons were literally wiped off the map. While we bask in our victory and Arrowhead remains faithful to the fact that the robots are extinct, we already know that something is going to happen. That something could be seen for the first time today in the form of a "rogue" ship upgrade that has temporarily appeared for players.

Called "Catalog Expansion" in the ship module menu, this upgrade is a new ship first discovered in Hell Diver 2. Before it disappeared, players captured its description and the effects of the upgrade:

"A new stratagem permit added to the Ship Management Terminal for purchase," the description says. In the effect column, it adds, "Support weapons will be deployed with the maximum number of magazines."

New stratagem, eh" Strange. According to the description, it appears that this upgrade must be purchased to unlock several stratagems, which is contrary to the current method of unlocking them by leveling up for the Helldiver. The description text for the support weapon ammo upgrade also has nothing to do with the stratagem part. It is very likely that this text is a placeholder, so I would not read too much into it.

The catalog expansion upgrade had already been removed from Super Earth's records when I checked.

"Warning: invalid item detected. The Ministry of Truth has confirmed that an unauthorized item called "Catalog Expansion" is temporarily displayed in the Ship Management menu. In accordance with regulations, we instruct all helldivers to avoid this rogue item until further notice." and posted on Discord." The Ministry of Truth cannot confirm the authenticity or safety of this item, nor can it confirm its source."

Some players have reported purchasing upgrades before going offline, but it is unclear if they are working. The "new stratagems" have not suddenly appeared online, at least not yet. Others said that they tried to unlock it, but so many people requested it that the servers seemed to be temporarily overloaded (similar to what happened the day Mech was released).

Arrowhead's in-universe communication obfuscates that point, but all indications are that this is an accidental leak of a working upgrade (note that the "stratagem affected" column in the description is blank). Pretty cool news, too: while there has been no shortage of new guns, suits, enemies, and stratagems added to Helldivers 2 since its launch, ship upgrades have come to a complete halt. This is the first confirmation that our ships will be expanded in the future.

But now there is a much bigger topic on every diver's mind: what comes after the bots" The best theory is that now is the perfect time for Arrowhead to introduce the Illuminates, the third alien faction of doom, into the game, but I think the studio is going to make such a major addition so early in the game? We'll find out in due time.