Helldivers 2 developers Arrowhead have reassured fans that they are not abandoning the game to focus on their next project, dubbed "Game 6." In a statement made on the official Helldivers Discord, CEO Shams Jorjani addressed concerns sparked by the game's explosive launch of the full-scale Illuminate invasion.
Jorjani emphasized the positive impact of the community's support, stating, "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. Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you." However, this comment led one fan to worry that Arrowhead was already diverting resources from Helldivers 2.
Quick to dispel these fears, Jorjani clarified, "Nah. It's ALL Helldivers 2 for now. A very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it sloowly. Helldivers is our main focus and will be for a loooong time." He further explained that the duration of content updates for Helldivers 2 would depend on player engagement and purchases of Super Credits, the game's virtual currency used to buy Premium Warbonds. "As long as you folks keep playing and buying Super Credits we can keep it going," he said, reflecting on the game's turnaround from a challenging period last summer.
In a related comment, Jorjani addressed a fan's request for Arrowhead's next game to be available in all regions, stating, "The next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots." This suggests that Arrowhead is self-funding Game 6 and not partnering with Sony or any other publisher, indicating it won't be Helldivers 3.
Jorjani also shared insights into the development process, comparing it to the "rough" eight-year journey of creating Helldivers 2. He explained, "For the most part of the development cycle games plain suck. Very seldom are they truly fun from the get-go. And for Helldivers taking eight years to make it was rough for the longest time. But it came together in the end. The ONLY way to know is to playtest playtest playtest." For Game 6, he noted that Arrowhead plans to "nail a lot of the core s**t early on (as you should) then make the rest," aiming for a more efficient development process.
These statements align with previous comments from Arrowhead developers who have expressed their desire for Helldivers 2 to remain a long-term project. As the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time, with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, Helldivers 2 has faced numerous challenges since its release, including changes to PSN account requirements on Steam and community reactions to game updates. Despite these hurdles, Alex Bolle, production director on Helldivers 2, told IGN, "we want it to be around for years and years and years to come."
Bolle elaborated on the team's vision for the game's future, saying, "How do we stay true to the Helldivers 2 fantasy, challenging enough that we keep making amazing new features and new systems and all that while we stay true to who we are? And I think it's something that is so motivating for the years to come. The more we figure out how to thrive in a live environment, and we still have a way to go to figure out a lot of things around that, the more we can let creativity loose on new systems that we would've never thought about a year ago when we released."
Recent leaks suggest that a new playable map, Super Earth, may soon be introduced as the Illuminate reaches our home planet, further indicating Arrowhead's commitment to expanding Helldivers 2.
