Helldivers 2's director has stepped down as Arrowhead's CEO, giving him more time to focus on the shooter itself.
As GamesIndustry.biz reports, Johan Pilestedt is no longer CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, being replaced by Shams Jorjani. Instead, Pilestedt will take on the role of chief creative officer at the developer while maintaining his role as game director of Helldivers 2.
Pilestedt tells the outlet that he's "been thinking about the journey ahead for Arrowhead, the future games we’re going to be making, and running the organization beyond the 120 or so developers we have currently." The director added that running an organization of over 100 people would inevitably force him to choose "between deepening my love for game creation, or the business track."
- 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"
- Helldivers 2 creative director announces a sabbatical after 11 years of grind, immediately starts a game jam that "wasn't that great" in the end
Pilestedt's passion for game creation won out. "After some contemplation and deep anxiety on how things are going to pan out, I finally came to the proper conclusion that I will have to follow my heart. It’s not only right for me, but it’s also right for the organization. Having a reluctant CEO is not something that will turn out that well, I think," the developer explains.
Over on Twitter, Pilestedt adds that the move will let him "focus more on games and not have to deal with HR policies." The Helldivers 2 director added that he'll be "more active with the community and work closer to the team" going forward.
Jorjani, for his part, says he's going to bring "structure" around Pilestedt focusing on developing Helldivers 2 going forward. The new CEO has over 12 years of experience in leadership roles at publishers like Paradox Interactive and Hooded Horse, and says he'll be focusing on the "frankly, boring business administration stuff" that means Pilestedt gets to focus on Helldivers 2.
Elsewhere, Arrowhead recently said it would be slowing down the rate of Helldivers 2 patches "to maintain the quality standard we want and you deserve." This follows a raft of changes that haven't gone down well with players, where even Pilestedt himself admitted it sometimes feels like Arrowhead stamps out fun aspects as soon as they're discovered by players.
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