Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, has recalled the point when PlayStation Studios head honcho Hermen Hulst called him to discuss the early struggles faced by Helldivers 2, describing the moment as his ‘lowest point’ to date.
While Helldivers 2 has become a huge success for Arrowhead Game Studios, it wasn’t without its teething problems following its February 2024 launch on PS5 and PC. Notably, Sony announced soon after release that Steam users would be required to sign in with a PlayStation Network account, something which was met with such backlash that the format holder walked back on the decision.
However, by this point a lot of damage had been dealt, with Helldivers 2 being hit with over 100,000 negative reviews on Steam and the game being pulled from sale in more than 150 regions. Still, the game was met with over 200,000 positive reviews on Steam once Sony backtracked.
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Jorjani recalled the moment that Hulst called to discuss the situation during a chat with The Game Business:
Maybe the lowest point during my tenure so far. I had to explain to the CEO why things were in the state they were, and what we were going to do to recover. And I had to say the awkward truth that there is nothing we can do in the short term. But in the long term, we have plans that will get us back on track.
Helldivers 2 has been receiving a steady stream of new Stratagems, weapons and other content since launch, and Arrowhead has been quick to pump out bug-fixing patches on a regular basis to keep things in ship shape. The most recent update arrived last week.
[Source – The Game Business via VGC]