Helldivers 2 Studio Arrowhead Appoints New CEO
Arrowhead's CEO steps down, but he's still at the studio.
Johan Pilestedt, the Helldivers 2 developer often seen conversing with players on social media, will no longer be the CEO of Helldivers 2 creator Arrowhead Game Studios. Now, Pilestedt will be the chief creative officer (CCO) instead with Shams Jorjani taking the spot of CEO. Pilestedt confirmed the news this week while explaining that his new position within Arrowhead will allow him to devote more time to both the game itself and the community of Helldivers 2 players.
GamesIndustry.biz first reported on the shift over at Arrowhead. Pilestedt told the outlet that as the studio's size and game catalog continued to grow, running an organization of Arrowhead's size meant that he'd have to split his time more between game development and the business side of things. To that end, Pilestedt chose the latter.
"Big update, I've decided to hire [Shams Jorjani] as the new CEO of [Arrowhead Game Studios]! 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)," Pilestedt said via his X account. "But what about me and my involvement in [Helldivers 2]? Well, I'm glad you asked! I am taking the role of Chief Creative Officer, which means I will spend MORE time with the team and 100% of my focus on the games and community!"
Prior to his new position at Arrowhead, Jorjani worked at Paradox and at Hooded Horse. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, he spoke on what he'll be able to bring to the role and how his being there will help take some of the load off of Pilestedt.
"What I'll be bringing to the table is organisation and leadership. What I did at Paradox, where I joined as the 23rd person and then helped grow the company into the behemoth it was… it was about organisation, leadership and business focus. It's a lot of the, frankly, boring business administration stuff that is a necessary part of running a company, which is hard to do when you're also juggling the chairman's hat and the creative director's hat and also being the one who is in the trenches doing a lot of the designing that Johan has been doing over the years."
Pilestedt helped navigate Helldivers 2 through the tumultuous PSN debacle and has looked to the community more than once for opinions on solutions and features within the game. With his new position, players will likely be hearing from him even more.
