New Helldivers 2 studio CEO wants to avoid the poison currently destroying the games industry: Publicly traded companies and endless growth

Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond diving
(Image credit: Sony)

Helldivers 2's new and outgoing CEOs both want to avoid Arrowhead's becoming a publicly traded company, which is currently destroying developers worldwide.

Earlier today, May 22, Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt stepped down as CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, transitioning to a chief creative officer role while maintaining his job at the head of the game itself. Pilestedt is replaced as CEO by Shams Jorjani, a 12-year industry veteran who's previously headed up publishers Paradox Interactive and Hooded Horse.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, both Pilestedt and Jorjani spoke about Arrowhead going forward. "We pride ourselves on being an independent studio," Pilestedt says, rebuffing talk of Arrowhead potentially going public or being acquired. "The goal of the studio is to make really great co-op games. We really want to turn Arrowhead into a flagship studio," adds Jorjani.

"But that doesn’t mean we have to be a 500-person company," the new Arrowhead CEO continues. "In fact, a 500-person company is quite painful in a lot of ways. We will see growth, but growth as a means to an ends, not as an end itself. We don’t have plans to go public. None of those shenanigans. Measured growth that allows us to make amazing games and be a good place to work."

Over on Twitter, Pilestedt further rebuked speculation about Arrowhead going public or being acquired. "No no, we are not going public! It doesn't make sense for a dev studio and has never paid off," the former CEO responded to one user speculating about the company going public.

Game developers around the world have seen horrific, historical layoffs over the past few years, at the hands of publicly traded companies pursuing endless growth. Unity laid off 1,800 employees earlier this year, for example, or the equivalent of 25% of its global staff, while Epic Games laid off 830 people the year before. That's barely scratching the surface of the layoffs, which include Microsoft shuttering two beloved and acclaimed studios this month.

This obviously isn't to say that independent developers and studios are immune to layoffs - just what's clear is that endless growth and sustainability don't go together, and corporations have proved that with developers time and time again. Pilestedt is right: It's never paid off for any developer.

After a year of Xbox execs celebrating Hi-Fi Rush as a "break out hit" and saying "we don't quit" on games like Redfall, everyone wants to know what changed.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Two Helldivers pull a classic fart gag
Despite shifting gear to Arrowhead's next game after a sabbatical, studio CEO clarifies that Helldivers 2 creative lead Johan Pilestedt will "absolutely still be involved"
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
Less than a year after launching 2024's best live service, Helldivers 2 creative director has already started working on "the next Arrowhead game"
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Helldivers 2 boss told launch players not to buy until servers calmed down, and it "took 5 minutes until I got a call from the friendly people over at PlayStation asking what the f*** I was smoking"
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 only had 20 devs working on it when development began, but High Command is now over 6 times larger and has continued to expand since launch
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Arrowhead CEO assures Helldivers 2 fans the online shooter will stay live "as long as people play" it: "If we can keep it going for 10 years we will"
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Jeff the Land Shark as he appears in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals has an unintentional Team-Up ability for Jeff the Land Shark and Doctor Strange, who can join forces for a bug that sends foes into an inescapable void
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
A year after Malevelon Creek became Helldivers 2's fiercest battleground, it looks like the Automatons are coming back for more
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
The Invisible Woman in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs know exactly how popular Invisible Woman is, and say that "body shape or silhouette" add to a character's popularity in a way far more innocent than the internet deserves
Helldivers 2 Warbond
Helldivers 2 players "became obsessed" with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth's bloodiest battles
Heroes and villains face off in Marvel Rivals key art
Marvel Rivals exec isn't afraid of roster bloat after NetEase promised new heroes every 6 weeks: "There's no limit for the sky. We just throw everything at it"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"