Helldivers 2 creative director announces a sabbatical after 11 years of grind, immediately starts a game jam that "wasn't that great" in the end

Helldivers 2 creative lead Johan Pilestedt is taking a sabbatical "for a while" after 11 long years of grind to "redeem what was lost from all of those that supported me for over a decade."

Explaining the news on Twitter, Pilestedt explains that working on the Helldivers IP for so long has meant putting his family second and it's now time to change that. While Pilestedt doesn't share how long he'll be away for exactly, he does share that he'll be "working on the next Arrowhead game" upon his return.

"I know a lot of you are going to think, "por qué?" - well, while you have enjoyed Helldivers 2 for almost a year, I have been living it since early 2016, and with Helldivers - its since 2013," he explains.

"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 of those that supported me for over a decade."

Amusingly, Pilestedt also shares that he kicked the sabbatical off by hosting a game jam with some of Arrowhead's most senior developers and founders. Except, well, the game they jammed "wasn't that great."

"Sometimes, you've just got to reconnect with yourself and your bros," he says. "The journey is sometimes the goal"

Words to live by.

As Helldivers 2 players hope to get their Crysis on, Arrowhead CEO says he'd "be surprised" if they didn't add a bow "at some point."