Helldivers 2 CEO Says Arrowhead Must Fix the Game and Add to It at the Same Time ‘To Stay Relevant’

ign.com:

The boss of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has addressed player concern about bugs (not those bugs) as the studio continues to release new content and new premium warbonds.

Since Helldivers 2’s explosive release on PlayStation 5 and PC in February, Arrowhead has maintained a monthly release schedule for new premium warbonds. They're essentially new battle passes that players work through to unlock new content, such as new weapons, new armor, and new cosmetics. Premium warbonds are unlocked via an in-game currency that can be obtained through gameplay, but can also be bought with real-world money.

Meanwhile, Arrowhead maintains the Galactic War, Helldivers 2’s meta narrative that has captivated the community since launch. Game Master Joel is pulling the strings from behind the scenes, issuing major orders that focus the player base on certain active fronts, lending Helldivers 2 an ongoing storyline even though no single-player campaign exists.

And then, on top of all that, Arrowhead adds new enemies, weapons, and even ship upgrades to the game, sometimes without announcement so players can discover them for themselves.

But Helldivers 2 is not without its bugs. In fact, Arrowhead itself publishes a list of known issues it’s currently working on even as it works on new content for the game. Some of these are particularly problematic, such as those affecting how weapons and some stratagems work, and players’ ability to play with the friends.

It’s this push and pull between fixing bugs and releasing new content that has sparked a debate within the Helldivers 2 community, with some calling on Arrowhead to down tools on things like premium warbonds in order to focus on bugs. Some have even suggested Arrowhead is under pressure from publisher Sony or other investors to release premium warbonds in order to hit revenue targets.

Enter Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, who addressed one redditor’s post with an explanation for how the studio is approaching ongoing development of the