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‘Weak invasion,’ say Helldivers 2 players as Waffle House remains open during Illuminate attack

A fake tweet imagining Waffle House staying open during the Illuminate attack sparked a “weak invasion” joke among Helldivers 2 players.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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The claim that Waffle House locations would stay open during the Illuminate attack on Super Earth was a joke—not a real restaurant announcement. A fake tweet shared in a Reddit meme thread imagined the chain operating through the fictional Helldivers 2 invasion, prompting players to tease that the aliens could not be much of a threat if they had failed to close a single “Super Waffle House.”

Where the Waffle House joke came from

Notebookcheck reported on May 22, 2025, that the meme began with a fake tweet claiming: “During the invasion of the Super Earth by the Illuminate, all Waffle House locations will remain open.” It was shared in a Reddit context; it was not posted as an official Waffle House statement. Notebookcheck’s report also quoted players joking that the invasion could not be too bad if Waffle Houses were staying open.

One Reddit comment quoted by Notebookcheck put the punchline this way: “What a weak invasion by the squids if it couldn’t even close a single Super Waffle House.” The “weak invasion” line is a gag about the game’s fictional enemies and setting, not a report on restaurant operations.

Why the joke fit the May 2025 story

The Illuminate were headed for Super Earth

On May 13, 2025, Arrowhead announced that the Illuminate had emerged from the Meridian singularity and were setting a course for Super Earth, alongside the arrival of new enemy types. The announcement established the invasion premise that players riffed on in the Waffle House meme. Arrowhead’s May announcement on PlayStation.Blog describes that escalation.

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Heart of Democracy brought the fight into cities

The May 20 Heart of Democracy update placed the battle in Super Earth’s urban sprawl. Its operations included liberating cities, repelling the invasion, assisting civilians and fighting alongside SEAF troops. That city-under-attack scenario made the imagined all-clear from a Waffle House especially absurd. Arrowhead’s Heart of Democracy announcement on Steam outlines the update’s setting and objectives.

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The Illuminate had returned earlier—but in a different story beat

The invasion meme sits later in the faction’s story. In its December 12, 2024, Omens of Tyranny announcement, Arrowhead described the Illuminate’s return after nearly a century as smaller insurgent bands staging attacks, building structures and abducting citizens. That is distinct from the May 2025 escalation toward Super Earth; the earlier update should not be mistaken for the start of that later invasion. The December announcement covers the return.

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What the meme does—and does not—claim

  • The Waffle House message was fake and circulated as a meme; no real-world chain announcement is established by the reporting.
  • “Super Waffle House” and the claims about locations remaining open are part of the joke, not verified store-by-store information.
  • A separate “93% of Helldivers are former Waffle House employees” line was also presented as a gag, not as a sourced statistic.
  • No official Waffle House and Helldivers 2 collaboration is established by these reports.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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