"Games that get 19% user score do not generally recover": Helldivers 2 CEO reflects on Arrowhead's "summer of pain" and No Man's Sky-inspired redemption arc

Helldivers 2 launched out of the gate to tremendous success last February, but as is the trend with big online releases these days, it eventually nosedived into a full-on tailspin due to various changes that upset fans.

In the case of Helldivers 2, you can mostly point to one big change at the root of its controversies: the one that required all players to sign into a PlayStation Network account even if they were playing on PC. The backlash was swift, united, and forceful enough that, just three days later, Sony walked back the decision and then-Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt commended the "willpower" of the Helldivers community.

While that was undeniably Helldivers 2's fiercest headwind, there were also a number of balance changes, not to mention a perceived lack of fresh content in updates, that contributed to the game's fall from grace. At the game's lowest point, it had fallen to an abysmal 19% user score on Steam.

Talking to The Game Business, current Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani opened up about what it was like heading up a studio during what he called its "summer of pain."

"Games that get 19% user score do not generally recover," he said.

"Maybe the lowest point during my tenure so far. I had to explain to [Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hermen Hulst] why things were in the state they were, and what we were going to do to recover. And I had to say the awkward truth that there is nothing we can do in the short term. But in the long term, we have plans that will get us back on track"

In the ensuing months, Arrowhead drew up a coordinated 60-day plan to make things right, culminating in a big update that included significant buffs to grenades and sentries, as well as long-avoided anti-tank mines. Months later, the game has managed to claw its way back up to a 76% positive reviews on Steam, and the mood at the studio is reportedly much better.

"I was inspired by No Man's Sky and the team over there," Jorjani said. "They had a similar journey. The game was hyped, then bombed, and then they put the head to the grindstone and just updated the game."

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