Helldivers 2 Director Takes Sabbatical After 11 Years, to Return for Arrowhead's Next Project

Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt has announced that he is taking a sabbatical leave after dedicating 11 years to the Helldivers franchise. Starting with the original Helldivers in 2013 and moving on to Helldivers 2 since early 2016, Pilestedt has been working tirelessly on the intellectual property.

In a heartfelt tweet, Pilestedt shared, “Eleven 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.”

He expressed confidence in his team at Arrowhead, stating, “I am sure my friends at Arrowhead will do their utmost in the meantime to deliver amazing stuff to Helldivers 2. When I'm back I will start working on the next Arrowhead game.”

Pilestedt's announcement comes on the heels of Helldivers 2's explosive launch in February 2024. The cooperative shooter quickly became PlayStation Studios’ fastest-selling game ever, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks. The game's success has even led Sony to adapt it into a movie.

As the public face of Helldivers 2, Pilestedt actively engaged with the community across various platforms, discussing the game's strengths and weaknesses. However, the game's massive success brought unforeseen challenges, including increased community toxicity. Last May, Pilestedt noted, "The big difference now, which is horrifying, is the amount of threats and rude behavior that people in the studio are getting from some really shitty individuals within the community."

Helldivers 2 faced initial server issues at launch, making the game unplayable for many and triggering a backlash. Arrowhead has since faced criticism over various issues, including weapon balance and the impact of Premium Warbonds. The most significant controversy arose from Sony’s decision to require PC players to link a PlayStation Network account, a move that was later reversed following a review-bombing campaign on Steam. Arrowhead's community managers reported that dealing with the fallout from this decision consumed an entire week of their time.

Amid these challenges, Pilestedt transitioned from CEO to chief creative officer at Arrowhead to focus more on the studio's games and community. Shams Jorjani, a former executive at Paradox and publisher of Magicka, stepped in as the new CEO.

While there's no information yet on Arrowhead's next game, it's clear that Helldivers 2 will continue to receive updates, with the recent addition of the third enemy faction, the Illuminate, injecting new excitement into the game.