Arrowhead CEO reassures Helldivers 2 players in the wake of Johan Pilestedt's sabbatical that if they can keep the game 'going for 10 years, we will'
Helldiver's 2's former CEO, now CCO, made headlines earlier this week—including ours—by announcing he'd be on a sabbatical following years of hard work.
As for why that's a big deal, well, Pilestedt has been particularly vocal as far as creative leads and directors go, speaking directly to the people on game balance, review controversies, and early-day spats between developers and players. He's also been a bit of a scamp, leaning into the setting's appetite for propaganda by denying the existence of flying bugs and the like even as players get turned into democratic mincemeat by them.
Essentially, he's become a bit of a central figure in the fanbase, and folks are sad to see him go, even on a temporary basis. The game's current CEO, Shams Jorjani, has been quick to reassure players that it's not going to be forever, responding to players on the game's Discord server (thanks, GamesRadar):
«Johan is just on an extended vacation. He's never been on a proper vacation since the company was founded,» Jorjani explains. «We get 6 weeks of vacation per year—most swedes take 4 weeks off in the summer. He's never done that. He's got like 65 days saved up or something. He's just beat.»
In other words—he's just taking a bit of a holiday, and everybody can relax: «When he's back he'll keep being the grandfather and sounding board for Helldivers, and get going with a new project in due time.»
As for supporting the game, Jorjani says it's mostly up to the player's interest, but as long as folks want to shoot bugs in the face, they'll keep inventing new ways to do just that. «As long as people play, pay, and we can build a business case around it, we'll support it to hell and back. If we can keep it going for 10 years we will.»
As a matter of fact, Jorjani seems pretty insistent that—given the time, funding, and legacy—a third game might not even be necessary. When asked whether supporting Helldivers 2 would mean canning a Helldivers 3, Jorjani writes: «Compare Helldivers today to
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