Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios officially has a new CEO and it is Shams Jorjani. Jorjani is replacing Arrowhead Game Studios’ found Johan Pilestedt as CEO. Don’t worry, Pilestedt will still be part of the studio as he is taking up the role of CCO and chairman. The announcement was made today as Pilestedt confirmed the change in a tweet on his X account.
In the statement, Pilestedt said, “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.” Pilestedt also confirmed that he would be “taking the role of Chief Creative Officer,” citing that he would get to “spend MORE time with the team and 100% of my focus on the games and community!”
Shams Jorjani has an impressive resume as he has spent 12 years at Paradox Interactive, the company behind games such as Prison Architect, Millenia, and the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. He also spent some time with the indie development company Hooded Horse. Needless to say, Jorjani does have the qualifications to give Arrowhead a hand.
When speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Pilestedt said, “I realized that running an organization of over 100 people to however large it is going to get… it means I will [have to choose] between deepening my love for game creation, or the business track. Over the last year going to launch of Helldivers 2, I’ve been pulled more towards the business side of things, and not able to focus as much on the creative side. That made me realize I needed to make some decisions, both for the success of the business but also myself.”
Jorjani added to the interview by saying, “When you’re talking to creatives like Johan, it’s not like he wants to retire. Helldivers 2 isn’t the highlight of his career. Hopefully, it’s the fourth-best game he ever makes. So the question is how do we set Johan and the team up to get to that in a more consistent manner, rather than skill plus luck plus happenstance… all the things that led us here.”
Basically, Jorjani will be handling the business side of things while Pilestedt goes back to what he does best and lends his hands to the creative team behind Helldivers 2. Perhaps with this setup, we can see Helldivers go off in a new direction and make it even better than it already is.
