After experiencing several extremely stressful moments, Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, has decided to step down from his position. The Helldivers 2 studio has appointed Shams Jorjani as the new CEO, while Pilestedt will take on the role of Chief Creative Officer.
Pilestedt confirmed this on his X/Twitter account, indicating his decision to take on this new role in order to further engage in the game’s development and respond to community feedback. The founder of the company shared that he hit burnout numerous times due to the various conflicts.
The Studio Responsible for Helldivers 2 Will Be Making Some Changes
Players of Helldivers 2, plagued by numerous issues that pitted the entire studio against the community, frequently voice their dissatisfaction over inadequate management, exemplified by the Sony scandal a few weeks ago, which plunged the team into a highly stressful situation. With this kind of conflict behind it, the most responsible person at Arrowhead Game Studios will no longer be the CEO, and the company has already named its successor.
Johan Pilestedt confirmed this on X, saying that Shams Jorjani will now be the new CEO of the studio, and Pilestedt will become Chief Creative Officer to be more focused on the game itself and the feedback from the community.
The game community quickly replied to the post, asking questions and congratulating Pilestedt on his decision to take on a new role in the game’s development.
A New Era Is Coming to the Studio
A user asked Pilestedt to talk about the reason for this decision. He mentioned that he had been burned out several times in the last couple of months since the game was released. This kind of continuous back-and-forth with the community is exhausting.
In the majority of replies, Pilestedt said that this decision is about to be more focused on the big changes that the game may need. Many other fans of the game and followers of this popular director were afraid that he was retiring from development, but he quickly clarified this.
He also confirmed that he will be more involved with the community and all of the suggestions that players make to improve the game. The idea behind this change is to make more developers play the game to see what could be improved in the general gameplay.
Pilestedt also said that this new CEO is a very good friend of his, and he really has confidence that Jorjani will make a great game for the players and fans. Pilestedt also said, “Secondly, I want to ensure we actively look at the sentiment and create a holistic view of WHY feedback is given. And my working theory is that TTK is too high.” Helldivers 2’s future is bright and will be very different.
What are your thoughts about this change? Let us know in the comments!
