Helldivers 2 director shuts down rumors that the studio has been acquired by Sony

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"This is the first I hear of this"

Helldivers 2 trailer
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Shocking absolutely no one, Helldivers 2's game director has confirmed that developer Arrowhead Game Studios is not being acquired by Sony.

Yesterday, March 5, Twitter users began speculating that Arrowhead was on the cusp of being acquired by Sony, seemingly stemming from various NeoGAF and Reddit forum posts. Helldivers 2 game director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt quickly and definitively quashed the speculation with the tweet below, putting the entire thing to bed.

Yes, the fact that this is the first the studio head is hearing of his studio potentially being acquired is a very good indication that the entire thing is fake. Elsewhere, Pilestedt added that the logo used above for Arrowhead is a "really shitty old logo from 2008 or so when we just started the studio."

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In fact, earlier this week before the entire silly speculation first kicked into gear, Pilestedt took a moment to remind everyone that Arrowhead is a firmly independent game developer, via the two tweets below. Arrowhead is owned, but it's owned by the very developers that first founded the company itself over 15 years ago.

Let this be a very good reminder not to believe everything you read on the internet. It's also a good reminder not to speculate about potential acquisitions like they're fantasy football transactions - these are studios potentially comprised of hundreds of developers, who probably get a little bit nervous when folk start promoting baseless rumors about their company being acquired online.

In other Helldivers 2 news, Arrowhead recently confirmed that the Helldivers 2 mechs are coming soon, after unveiling the EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit yesterday. We've seen and heard rumors of the gigantic mech over the past few years, and some players even got the towering vehicles working in Helldivers 2, but now we know they're finally real, and arriving soon.

Catch up on everything we know so far about the Helldivers 2 Illuminate faction, because it could well be the next force vying for control of Super Earth.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.