Arrowhead Game Studio"s sci-fi third-person shooter Helldivers 2 became a huge surprise hit when it was released by publisher Sony for the PS5 and PC earlier this year. Today, the developer announced a shakeup in its leadership.
Johan Pilestedt, the founder of Arrowhead, has announced on his X that he is leaving the CEO role. However, he is hot leaving Arrowhead as he will now become its chief creative officer.
Hey everyone,
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 22, 2024
Big update, I"ve decided to hire @ShamsJorjani as the new CEO of @ArrowheadGS! We go way back and I wouldn"t trust the business in any other hands than his. (...and he comes with an impressive resume and love for games)
But what about me and my involvement in…
Shams Jorjani, who previously worked in many producer and executive roles at Paradox Interactive for 12 years, will take over from Pilestedt in the CEO role.
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Pilestedt offered his reasons for not being Arrowhead"s CEO anymore, saying:
Over the last year going to launch of Helldivers 2, I’ve been pulled more towards the business side of things, and not able to focus as much on the creative side. That made me realise I needed to make some decisions, both for the success of the business but also myself.
Helldivers 2 became a breakout hit when it was released in February. Earlier this month, publisher Sony confirmed the game has sold 12 million copies across both PS5 and PC platforms, making it the fastest-selling game in Sony"s history.
The game has also had its share of issues. The first few days of the game"s release overwhelmed the online servers due to so many players joining in. Then Sony decided it would start enforcing PC players on Steam to sign up and link to a PlayStation Network account. That decision received so much blowback from players that Sony backed off of those plans. However, Steam players in many countries where PSN is not supported still cannot play Helldivers 2 at the moment.