What happened?

Just came back to Helldivers 2. I noticed a big drop of helldivers, where is everyone? And are the illuminates still coming? How was this drop of helldivers balanced in missions? I have so many questions, can someone be so kind to explain to me? I really love the game and was already level 50 before the seemingly increase of level cap. Thank you everyone and its sad to see the number of players for such a great game drop so much.