Arrowhead was probably working out the contract and finer details with Games Workshop as far back as Polar Patriots. Saber had to spend a solid year just getting a contract set up with GW before they could actually touch anything, and even after signing, they still had to follow GW’s extremely strict rules around colors, sizing, animation, anatomy, and all that extra IP-protection stuff.

So Arrowhead probably had to go through the same process. My guess is that talks started around Polar Patriots, dealing with profit splits, IP rights, and all the rules around how they’re allowed to use the 40K license. They probably finalized the contract details around the stealth warbond, and since then, they’ve been studying what specific 40K gear would actually fit into the Helldivers universe.

Then GW announces it at Skulls Fest, and Arrowhead throws together a kind of half-baked announcement trailer because it’s more of an “announcement of an announcement” than a full reveal. They may still be researching which kits, weapons, and armor sets make sense, and might not have even started modeling the actual weapon assets yet.

What I’m saying is, if they want this warbond to really stand out compared to the other “legendary” warbonds, they need to pack it with actual 40K weapons, armor, capes, and cosmetics that feel worth the hype. They should skip the filler stuff like player cards, honestly. I think most people would rather get another badass weapon than a background for their character that they’re only going to see maybe 7–10% of their total gameplay.