Helldivers 2 CEO Announces Sabbatical After 11 Years of Work
After 11 years working on the Helldivers IP, Arrowhead CEO will take a well-earned sabbatical. Don't don't worry—development on Helldivers 2 will continue.
The CEO of Helldivers 2 developer, Arrowhead, has announced that he will be taking a sabbatical. The rest of the development team will continue to work on updates for Helldivers 2 in the meantime, along with involvement in the recently announced Helldivers movie. But when Johan Pilestedt returns from his sabbatical, he has said he will begin working on Arrowhead’s next game.
Helldivers 2 CEO announces a sabbatical after working on the Helldivers IP since 2013
Helldivers 2 quickly became one of 2024’s most unexpected success stories, selling millions of copies in the first few months after its launch. The developer, Arrowhead Game Studios, had worked on the sequel for years, following the release of the first Helldivers game in 2015. Over the last year since its release, Helldivers 2 has gone through several controversies, including forcing players to log in with a PlayStation Network account and selling Killzone cosmetics for outrageous prices. But through it all, it has still managed to remain a popular multiplayer game beloved by many.
Yesterday afternoon, Arrowhead’s CEO, Johan Pilestedt, announced on X/Twitter that he would be taking some time away from Helldivers. He explained that: “11 years of working “around the clock” on the same IP has made me set aside family, friends and my lovely wife… and myself. I am going to take some time now to redeem what was lost from all those that supported me over a decade.” Pilestedt is not worried about what will happen to the game while he is away, he knows he is leaving it in good hands.
Responses flooded in telling Pilestedt to enjoy the well-earned rest. The Arrowhead CEO responded to a few questions about how long he would be gone and what he would be doing. He said that the sabbatical will likely last somewhere between one to five months, not five years as someone feared. Pilestedt also suggested that he would use some of this time off to paint Warhammer figures. Finally, Pilestedt also hinted that he may still be involved in the upcoming Helldivers 2 one-year anniversary on February 8th, 2025.
Pilestedt ended his announcement with an interesting note. “When I’m back – I will start working on the next Arrowhead game.” Of course, it will likely be years before we learn more about what that game might be, but hopefully the development won’t be so long and arduous that the CEO needs to take another sabbatical.
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Author: Matt Buckley
Matt has been writing for Gamepressure since 2020, and currently lives in San Diego, CA. Like any good gamer, he has a Steam wishlist of over three hundred games and a growing backlog that he swears he’ll get through someday. Aside from daily news stories, Matt also interviews developers and writes game reviews. Some of Matt’s recent favorites include Arco, Neva, Cocoon, Animal Well, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Tears of the Kingdom. Generally, Matt likes games that let you explore a world, tell a compelling story, and challenge you to think in different ways.
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