Helldivers 2 is going through some performance issues, and the studio's boss has been explaining how tech debt plays a part in the problem.
Helldivers 2's performance issues have become a large part of the conversation about the game recently, with Shams Jorjani, the CEO of developer Arrowhead, admitting "we're not getting a passing grade on performance and stability", and that there is a development plan in place to tackle it starting with an update next month. Jorjani has been active in the game's Discord, admitting that the game has a lot of technical debt (effectively, development decisions made in the past which have long-standing effects on the game).
Jorjani now talks about this technical debt in a bit more detail with users of the Helldivers 2 Discord : "Tech debt is like a garage filled with stuff you just chucked in. We really need to put up shelves in the back to get organized."
However, he explains, "that requires us taking everything out so we can get to that wall. Problem is everyone is going in and out of the garage daily with a bunch of stuff," so while the studio is trying to fix these issues, the developers are still having to develop new content for the game at the same time.
Jorjani also explains how this technical debt was accumulated in the first place, since Helldivers 2 "started as a AA game" before it "grew in scope, then pivoted to a launch title for PS5, then pivoted to F2P, then back to premium." Although he admits he may have the order of these events mixed up, he adds: "the goal posts were moved a few times – so the foundations of this big tower were made for a little bungalow on the beach. All this = tech debt = performance is so-so for us."
So from the sounds of things, Arrowhead has an understanding of why Helldivers 2 is having issues at the moment, but the problem is actually getting the opportunity to tackle it head on while still updating the game as constantly as it does.
