LogInMeanwhile, the studio has decided to change its CEO.
Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios
Arrowhead Game Studios grew a lot when it released its major hit Helldivers 2. Now, its CEO Johan Pilestedt is aiming for the stars and hoping to make the company "the next FromSoftware or Blizzard." Shams Jorjani, who used to work for Paradox Interactive and then Hooded Horse, will help him as the company's new chief executive officer. Pilestedt will become the chief creative officer and "spend MORE time with the team and 100% of my focus on the games and community."
"We have to see what the future holds, but there’s nothing in the plans where we want to be acquired by somebody. I want to see how high we can fly. And bringing Shams on board, we have a good potential to realise that future of turning into the next From Software or Blizzard," Pilestedt told GamesIndustry.biz.
However, going big means facing bigger challenges, including toxicity. Pilestedt said has seen "threats and rude behaviour" from players. "That’s something new we have to deal with." It's all part of the process as the studio's motto says "a game for everyone is a game for no one," so players disagreeing with its policies are expected. The CEO tries to look at it positively, though: "If you don't have those lows, you can't get those highs."
"Almost all games have a bit of toxicity in the community, but with these big numbers you just get so many, so we need to work with the community to get them to self-moderate, give people the tools to speak with each other in a positive fashion, so we can keep talking to the players openly. The more voices being added to the choir does add complexity," added Jorjani.
For now, the company has no plans to go public. Pilestedt claims that he doesn't run the business for monetary gain. "The humbleness and the desire to just make great games is the only reason we exist."
Hopefully, Arrowhead will take only good experiences from the studios it looks up to. Find the full interview here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.