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Both Helldivers games were published by PlayStation, but developer Arrowhead is an independent studio. After the runaway success of Helldivers 2, it looks like the company has plans to make its next game fully on its own.
"The wonderful thing is that thanks to the amazing support of you FINE people," CEO Shams Jorjani said in a recent message to fans on Discord (via Forbes), "Arrowhead's future is quite bright and we have the freedom to explore some really cool concepts that we couldn't have otherwise. Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you."
Asked whether that next game will be subject to the same controversial region restrictions that have affected Helldivers 2 and many other PlayStation-published titles, Jorjani said that "the next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots."
But Jorjani was equally quick to note that he's not through Sony under the bus. "Playstation are great," he said. "there would be no Helldivers if it wasn't for them. We're open to working with them again in the future. They are incredibly game/dev oriented. Solid partners. And this is me just saying it like it is. Not blowing smoke up their asses."
While Arrowhead is starting to look ahead to its next game, Jorjani clarified that "it's ALL Helldivers 2 for now," so don't worry about support for its current hit drying up anytime soon.
"A very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it sloowly. Helldivers is our main focus and will be for a loooong time," Jorjani said.
Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt previously outed that Arrowhead was considering its next game back in January, but, even then, he was simply working on the "high concept" for the project.
Arrowhead released its first four games, from the cult co-op favorite Magicka to the first Helldivers, between 2011 and 2015. The nine-year gap to the launch of Helldivers 2 in 2024, then, is a bit of anomaly. Here's hoping the studio's sixth game comes together a bit more easily.
Check out everything in the Helldivers 2 Masters of Ceremony Warbond.
