Helldivers 2 is riding a high right now as a recent update and the upcoming release of its next Warbond has resulted in a surge of players. But what about developer Arrowhead’s next game?
Despite Helldivers 2 being a Sony backed title, Arrowhead is actually an independent developer. Considering the success of Helldivers 2, though, you might think that Arrowhead would want to jump straight back into bed with Sony, but that is not the case, apparently.
As reported by Bloomberg, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani spoke on Discord, explaining that the immense success of Helldivers 2 means they have the freedom to fully fund their next game, giving them creative control.
“The wonderful thing is that thanks to the amazing support of you FINE people Arrowhead’s future is quite bright and we have the freedom to explore some really cool concepts that we couldn’t have otherwise,” said Shams. “Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you. The next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we’ll call 100% of those shots.”
One user questioned whether there was some sort of bad blood between Sony and Arrowhead, but Shams was quick to dismiss such ideas: “No way. Playstation are great. 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.”
The real surprise, to my mind, is that Sony hasn’t attempted to buy Arrowhead after how well Helldivers 2 has performed. Perhaps that isn’t for a lack of trying, though, because Arrowhead seems content to remain an independent studio that can remain creatively true to itself.