Helldivers 2 Dev Setting Studio Up to ‘Make More and Better Stuff’ in ‘Sustainable Way’, New CEO Says

ign.com:

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