After the Last Great War, the last remaining survivors banded together to create the Federation of Super Earth which sparked the introduction of Helldivers as an elite peacekeeping force, tasked with protecting the civilians of Super Earth and liberating external planets of opposing factions to spread their political ideas.
Automatons originate from a past oppressed faction called the Cyborgs whom were originally miners for Super Earth citizens who adopted cybernetic implants to survive the harsh, cold conditions of the planet Cyberstan. Overtime, Cyborgs developed socialist ideologies and started protests of sovereignty. During the 1st galactic war, the cyborgs were wiped out with the last survivors sparking the creation of the Automaton Empire, a new generation of sentient non-human robots to continue to fight for the sovereignty of Cyberstan.
The Illuminate faction is derived from the Squ’ith species. The illuminate were originally a group of advanced, peaceful aliens whom made contact with Super Earth; however, after Super Earth discovered the potential of weapons of mass destruction within their technologies, the Federation of Super Earth attacked, and forced the Illuminate’s retreat during the 1st galactic war. The Illuminates would make a reappearance in the 2nd galactic war after emerging from the black hole: Meridia with new weaponized technologies to combat against Super Earth's oppression.
Terminids were introduced during the first galactic war as a bug like faction reminiscent of the Arachnids from Starship Troopers. They were genetically modified to harbour E-710 in their blood, which was vital for unlocking FTL (faster than light) travel for the Federation of Super Earth. During this, the Terminids all simultaneously breached containment in all sectors which allowed the genetically modified and highly adaptable Terminids to survive and thrive in their respective planets and start spreading via the Gloom; a large yellow cloud full of spores which currently engulfs the eastern side of the galactic map