Arrowhead's CCO wants the Helldivers 2 studio to become the next FromSoftware: 'I want to see how high we can fly'

Arrowhead Game Studio’s chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt has said he wants the Helldivers 2 developer to become the next FromSoftware or Blizzard Entertainment.

In a social media post shared on May 22, Pilestedt announced that he has officially stepped down from his role as CEO into CCO, and has handed the position over to Shams Jorjani – an industry veteran who has had a long history with Arrowhead.

Although his statement was brief, Pilestedt explained that the shift will now allow him to spend more time with the creative team and put “100%” of his focus on making games and the community.

Speaking more in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the CCO talked about the overwhelming success of Helldivers 2, as well as what comes next for the studio, but stated that it has no plans to be acquired by a company, such as Sony, and wants to remain independent.

“We feel there we have so much more to give, and so many more games we want to make,” Pilestedt said. “The ambition level and appetite of the organisation has grown significantly. We now have a taste of blood, and we want more.”

Hey everyone,Big update, I’ve decided to hire @ShamsJorjani as the new CEO of @ArrowheadGS! We go way back and I wouldn’t trust the business in any other hands than his. (…and he comes with an impressive resume and love for games)But what about me and my involvement in…May 22, 2024

“We pride ourselves on being an independent studio,” he continued. “We have to see what the future holds, but there’s nothing in the plans where we want to be acquired by somebody. I want to see how high we can fly. And bringing Shams on board, we have a good potential to realise that future of turning into the next FromSoftware or Blizzard.”

Jorjani also offered his opinion on selling out, saying that the goal of Arrowhead is “to make really great co-op games”, adding that this doesn’t necessarily mean the studio wants to grow to a 500-person company.

“We really want to turn Arrowhead into a flagship studio, where people who want to make these kind-of games say to themselves: ‘I want to work at Arrowhead’,” Jorjani said. “When we were growing up, we really wanted to work at Blizzard, it was one of the bucket list places to work at. I think Arrowhead has the potential to be that.

“But that doesn’t mean we have to be a 500-person company. In fact, a 500-person company is quite painful in a lot of ways. We will see growth, but growth as a means to an ends, not as an end itself. We don’t have plans to go public. None of those shenanigans. Measured growth that allows us to make amazing game and be a good place to work.”