Helldivers 2 Boss Says Better Planning Can Prevent Layoffs

Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead, which is best known for the Helldivers series, expressed his opinion on the industry's layoffs, saying that studios should grow and expand responsibly to avoid having to lay off large numbers of employees later.

In a recent interview, Jorjani talked about the urgent and vulnerable topic, commenting on the situation that is present in the gaming sphere. "I wish that our industry hadn't shed almost… 30, 40, 50,000 jobs over the past two years," the executive said. "A lot of people at the top were making very unsound business decisions, and there's very little accountability on their part. Who among these executives is stepping down? Or slashing their salaries?"

Jorjani noted that "regular developers are paying the cost of that." He also pointed out that stable long-term development is a more efficient strategy for employers: "That's a terrible way to run our industry. Just because you can hire and triple in size in six months, doesn't mean you should. Or that it's the best thing for the studio's long term business health." The growth, according to Jorjani, should be done in a way so that the company doesn't have to let go of "one-third" of its workforce. "My first priority is to make sure that people have jobs for many years," he concluded.

Helldivers 2 was the Best Ongoing Game and Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2024. Before, Shams Jorjani reassured fans that the studio would continue to support the co-op "as long as people play." Now, Arrowhead Game Studios is "working on the high concept" for their next game.

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