Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Arrowhead CEO steps down to focus more on developing Helldivers 2

By
A soldier in silhouette in Helldivers 2.
Arrowhead Game Studios

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios has a new CEO. Shams Jorjani, a former Paradox Interactive executive, will be stepping into the role, while former CEO Johan Pilestedt will focus more on developing the company’s flagship title Helldivers 2.

“I am taking the role of chief creative officer, which means I will spend MORE time with the team and 100% of my focus on the games and community!” Pilestedt wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Recommended Videos

Hey everyone,

Big update, I've decided to hire @ShamsJorjani as the new CEO of @ArrowheadGS! We go way back and I wouldn't trust the business in any other hands than his. (…and he comes with an impressive resume and love for games)

But what about me and my involvement in…

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 22, 2024

Related

Pilestedt has been a constant presence on X for the Helldivers community since the PlayStation-published title launched in February. He’s always been pretty open about the development process and has played along with Helldivers 2’s Super Earth propaganda. That remained true after the announcement, as he responded to user comments about what could be improved with the game.

One user posted about how Pilestedt should start making armor with “interesting stats” and improve the guns in future Warbonds. Pilestedt said he agreed “on all points.”

Players have been generally disgruntled about the state of the game over the last few weeks. Beyond the backlash to PlayStation requiring a PSN account to play the game on PC (the publisher has since backtracked on the decision), players have been frustrated by certain decisions, along with the recent Polar Patriot Warbond. When asked about implementing player feedback, Pilestedt said he also wanted to get more developers playing the game. “It’s hard to make the right decisions if the eyes aren’t on the road,” he wrote.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, he spoke more about wanting to get back into the creative side of game development, and how the success of Helldivers 2 and the expansion of the studio was going to get in the way of that.

“Over the last year going to launch of Helldivers 2, I’ve been pulled more towards the business side of things, and not able to focus as much on the creative side. That made me realize I needed to make some decisions, both for the success of the busines,s but also myself,” he said.

In the same interview, Jorjani added that he wanted to support Pilestedt in making games beyond just Helldivers 2. “When you’re talking to creatives like Johan, it’s not like he wants to retire. Helldivers 2 isn’t the highlight of his career. Hopefully, it’s the fourth-best game he ever makes.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Carli Velocci
Carli Velocci
Contributor, Games
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Concord is coming this August, and it basically looks like Guardians of the Galaxy
Two characters face off in Concord.

PlayStation revealed a new cinematic trailer for its live-service sci-fi game Concord during the May 2024 State of Play presentation. Firewalk Studios also showed off gameplay featuring five of its characters. It also got a fresh release date of August 23 for the PS5 and PC; a beta will also be hosted in July.

Concord is a 5vs5 shooter taking place in the Concord galaxy. Players assume the role of a mercenary-type figure called a Freerunner and are part of an an intergalactic spacefaring crew called Northstar. The five characters unveiled are Vale, a woman with a knack for snipers; Haymar, a woman who can shoot fireballs; the blue brute Star Child; the mohawk-sporting Lennox; and the robot 1-Off. At launch, there will be 16 characters to choose from. The game will also have free post-launch updates that will add more characters, maps, vignettes, and more.

Read more
PlayStation State of Play returns this week, will feature 14 PS5 games
Three colorful PS5s float together in a line.

PlayStation will kick off the summer of digital video game reveal streams this week with a State of Play broadcast. The stream will take place at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 30.

State of Play is one of Sony's primary livestream presentation formats. It tends to be slightly shorter than the company's flagship stream, the PlayStation Showcase. This State of Play is a significant one, though, as Sony's slate of first-party games for 2024 is entirely unknown at this stage. This stream should shed some light on what's coming later this year.

Read more
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 ending, explained: What happens to Senua?
Senua stares ahead wearing war paint.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was released on PC and Xbox Series X/S last week and stood out as a captivating narrative-driven adventure starring a character with psychosis. It’s a tale about Senua getting revenge on the slavers who destroyed her village and killed her partner, Dillion, prior to the events of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. After a shipwreck, though, she’s swept up on a quest to defeat the giants plaguing Midgard while continuing to learn how to live with her condition.

Because of how Hellblade 2 aims to portray Senua’s psychosis realistically, the game is intentionally a bit disorienting to play. You might have come away a bit confused by what exactly happened over the course of this seven-hour adventure. That’s why we're laying out what exactly happened over the course of Hellblade 2 and how the game literally and thematically wraps up.
How does Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 begin
Hellblade 2 starts an undisclosed amount of time after Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. After defeating Hela, accepting the death of Dillion, and conquering the inner darkness represented by her father, Senua decides to take the fight back to Midgard and the raiders who destroyed Dillion’s village and sacrificed him. She got herself caught as a slave, The Northman-style, but at the start of the game, a fierce storm causes a shipwreck. Emerging from that, Senua slowly climbs and fights her way out of a rocky beach.

Read more