Helldivers 2 APC Game Master Reportedly an Imposter Masquerading as Joel

Helldivers 2 players have reported encountering unsanctioned Super Earth weaponry and equipment in the wild since the game first launched. Almost immediately, players were running into mechs, vehicles, and even an incredibly cool-looking armoured personnel carrier (APC), all thought to be part of Game Master Joel's plan, or at least the testing process. But a new report suggests we might be dealing with a Joel imposter, some unknown individual or individuals masquerading as an Arrowhead developer, with the skills required to get around the game's defences.

Rock Paper Shotgun's Jource (Joel source, the deep-cover operative the outlet has at Arrowhead) says that at least one imposter is at play. Yesterday, RPS posted a story about a group of players encountering and communicating with "[AH] Joel" in-game (red flag) before being gifted with an APC, with the associated clip quickly going viral. The Jource got in touch to "put the record straight" and is calling BS.

According to the Jource, Real Joel is far too busy (Fake Joel got that part right) to drop into a live game to converse with the likes of us, and we shouldn't be so quick to believe. Stranger still, it seems Real Joel isn't very worried because Fake Joel's only intent seems to be for "other people to have fun," which is a goal and ethos they "both share."

IGN says it's probably just PC players circumventing the game's anti-cheat system and doing their bit for Democracy, but at this point, we're jumping at shadows, seeing Automaton plots everywhere. Who's to say sowing this kind of misinformation wasn't part of the plan all along? Are we in the media just unwitting instruments in a much larger scheme? Is Joel even real?

How deep does the rabbit hole go? Is Joel one person, many, an ideal, or something else entirely? Separate fact from fiction in the comments section below.