Following a series of successful and well-received updates forHelldivers 2, the game’s Creative Director and CCO of developer Arrowhead Game Studios, Johan Piletstedt, has announced that he’ll be taking a break. Launched in February 2024,Helldivers 2quickly became a breakout success for Arrowhead, dwarfing the player count of the originalHelldiversand becoming one of the few truly successful live-service games to be released in recent years. Despite suffering from some major setbacks,Helldivers 2has continued to see success in 2025 and still has some big updates ahead of it.
As announced byJohan Pilestedt on X, he will be taking “a sabbatical”, noting that the eleven years of work that he’s put into theHelldiversgames have affected his personal life. As Arrowhead continues to work onHelldivers 2without him, Pilestedt promises that the studio “will do their utmost in the meantime to deliver amazing stuff” - and, interestingly, hints at what might be next for the studio after the end of his break,teasing “the next Arrowheadgame”.
After 11 Years Of Non-Stop Work, The Helldivers 2 Director Needs A Break
Nearly A Year After Launch, Pilestedt Is Leaving Helldivers 2 In A Good Spot
Notably, while Pilestedt’s statement says that he’s taking a break, it does seem like, whereHelldivers 2is concerned,he’ll have minimal involvement in the game’s development going forward. Instead, as his statement indicates, he’ll be taking the lead on an entirely new title and leaving the development ofHelldivers 2to others at Arrowhead. Hopefully, after working on the series since 2013, an extended break and beginning work on an entirely new project will provide a nice change of pace.
Is Helldivers 2 Worth Playing In 2025?
After a wildly successful launch and a series of less successful updates, is Helldivers 2 still worth playing, a year after its initial release?
While Pilestedt served as the CEO of Arrowhead whenHelldivers 2launched, he took a step back from the role three months later in May, announcingon Xthat he would be passing it to current CEO Shams Jorjani and stepping into the position of Chief Creative Officer, making him more directly involved inHelldivers 2’s ongoing development. Some of the updates that followed, most notably the “Escalation of Freedom” update in August, received backlash from the community, mostly for nerfing certain weapons, but the game has since changed course, to a generally positive reception.
Although Pilestedt has lightly teased Arrowhead’s next upcoming game, there’s currently very little information to indicate what it might be.A prospectiveHelldivers 3, at least, isn’t especially likely, as Pilestedt previously indicatedon Xthat Arrowhead plans on “growing Helldivers 2 into Helldivers 3” - so continued updates for2will most likely take the place of a standalone sequel. Other thanHelldivers, Arrowhead has also worked onGauntletand the originalMagicka, but the studio’s next game could easily be a new IP or even aHelldiversspin-off title.
Helldivers 2 Review: “A Refreshingly Fun Power Fantasy”
Helldivers 2 is just about the best-case scenario for a live-service game, and its show-stopping gameplay delivers incredibly visceral moments.
Until more is revealed, there’s not much to speculate on about Arrowhead’s next game, and it will probably take a significant amount of time before the studio is ready to show anything substantial. As Johan Pilestedt takes a well-earned break, however,Helldivers 2will continue to receive updates from the rest of the Arrowhead team, which will hopefully continue to push the game in the right direction.
