Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead is in the process of setting the studio up so it can “make more and better stuff” in the long-term, the company’s new CEO has said.
In an introductory post on reddit, CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced previous Arrowhead CEO and current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt, said the studio has had to adjust to the enormous success and higher profile Helldivers 2 has brought to the company.
PlayStation 5 and PC co-op shooter Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since going on sale earlier this year. Amid the huge revenue Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has suffered a number of crisis, including launch server problems and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to force Steam players to account link to PlayStation Network.
But having to handle such a massive community has also proven difficult for Arrowhead, whose previous games Magicka and the first Helldivers, while successful, were small in comparison to Helldivers 2. Jorjanis said Arrowhead plans to “keep working closely with Sony and improve the game for as many people as possible”, despite recent events. “They're an amazing partner and we really, really really wouldn't have had HD2 if it wasn't for them.”
To this end, Arrowhead plans to add to Helldivers 2 in meaningful ways to keep players interested in its live service. Some players have called on the developer to take more time with balance patches and Premium Warbond releases after recent efforts fell flat, and Arrowhead has indicated that’s what it intends to do.
“We knew it would be impossible to keep up with demand and the insatiable hunger for more fun shit to do in/with HD2,” Jorjanis said.
“Our singular focus as a studio is to set things up in a sustainable way so that in the long term we can make more and better stuff. We're building a bit of scaffolding before we can make a bigger barn. Queue ‘where's the patch?????’ comments.”
And finally, Jorjanis once again called on the Helldivers 2 community to avoid descending into the toxic behavior the studio has experienced since the game went on sale. Jorjanis and Pilestedt called out the surge in toxicity that came with Helldivers 2’s success in a recent interview, and Jorjanis reinforced the point here.
“I'll be frank and say the same thing most game devs say - when things turn toxic the natural inclination is to retreat,” Jorjanis said. “Anyone who gets death threats (and worse) will naturally want to engage LESS with the community. That leads to a negative spiral with less interaction and more frustration. Pilen and I will always be active - but we will be more active the more civil and fun things are. So I'd ask you to help us to turn this into a positive atmosphere. That doesn't mean you can't criticize - you can! and should!
“We share well articulated feedback about the game internally, it really resonates and makes it easier for us to do our jobs. We don’t however circulate the posts where we’re told to go jump off a cliff - even if they might have excellent design feedback.”
The hope is Helldivers 2 and future games from Arrowhead will benefit from Pilestedt now being closer to game development and less distracted by business affairs. The Helldivers 2 community is clamoring for the game’s next update, which is expected to rebalance many of the game’s weapons. Meanwhile, a third enemy faction, potentially the Illuminate, appears to also be on the way.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
