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"

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"The vast majority of Helldivers is a team effort - it's not one Jesus figure"

Two Helldivers pull a classic fart gag
(Image credit: Arrowhead)

Arrowhead Game Studios founder and Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt, who now holds the position of chief creative officer at the company, is taking a sabbatical and working on an all-new game upon his return. But the studio's CEO has clarified what the lead's role will be in the future for fans worried about future Helldivers 2 support.

"So let me give you a bit of insight into how game dev works," Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani wrote in the game's Discord channel. "The lead for the game is Mikael Eriksson and has been for the last few years - Johan's role as a senior creative is to support all our projects. So he'll absolutely still be involved - in the same way he's been the past year - gives input on high level plans, collaborates with designers on some stuff."

"The vast majority of Helldivers is a team effort - it's not one Jesus figure," he explains. "Johan's super power is developing concepts and games from the ground up. He was instrumental in getting Helldivers to where it needed to be - others carried it across the finish line." So, in other words, Pilestedt's evolving role won't derail whatever you like about Helldivers 2 as it is now.

Less than a year after releasing 2024’s best live service, Helldivers 2 director is already working on the “next Arrowhead game.” 

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.