These last weeks, Helldiverse 2 has made a lot of talk about him, whether for good with the arrival of theCold Patriots Premium War Bond or in trouble with the announcement of having to have an account PSN to play it on Steam. Fortunately, following the discontent of the players and a hell of a review bombing, Sony Interactive Entertainment revised his plans. It was on this occasion that a good number of players were able to discover THE CEO ofArrowhead Game Studios Johan Pilestedtwho spoke on multiple occasions. Finally, ex-CEO, because we learn this week that he is giving way to Shams Jorjaniwho previously worked for 12 years at Paradox Interactive as vice-president of business and development, vice-president in charge of products or even CBDO. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the independent publisher Hooded Horse Inc.as well as an investor in CULT Games And Leetify. In short, he's a busy man.
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The reason for this appointment is simple, it allows Johan Pilestedt to once again take care of the creation of video games as creative director aka CCO. It was also he who decided to put Shams Jorjani in charge ofArrowhead. An article from GamesIndustry.bizwhich has just been bought by IGNgave the floor to the two interested parties, statements coming from a longer interview to consult here.
I've been thinking about the journey ahead for Arrowhead, the future games we'll make, and running the organization beyond the next few years. 120 developers we currently have. I realized that leading an organization of 100+ people, no matter the size…means I will have to choose between deepening my love for game creation or the business path.
Over the last year leading up to the launch of Helldivers 2, I was more drawn to the business side and I haven't been able to focus as much on the creative side. It made me realize that I had to make certain decisions, both for the success of the business, but also for myself.
So I contacted Shams. We had lunch and asked him if I should reconsider the direction of Arrowhead over the next decade and, if I were to hire a new CEO, would he be interested?
After some thought and deep anxiety about how things will turn out, I finally came to the right conclusion that I will have to follow my heart. It's not only good for me, but it's also good for the organization. Having a reluctant CEO is not something that will go over very well, I think.
– Johan Pilestedt
When you talk to creatives like Johan, it's not like he wants to retire. Helldivers 2 is not the high point of his career. Hopefully this is the fourth best game he's ever made. So the question is how to prepare Johan and the team to achieve this more cohesively, rather than relying on skill, luck and chance… all the things that got us here.
What I will bring to the table is organization and leadership. What I did at Paradox, where I joined as the 23rd person and then helped build the company into the giant that it was… it was about organization, about leadership and business orientation. It's a lot of the, frankly boring, business administration tasks that are a necessary part of running a businesswhich is hard to do when you're also juggling the chairman hat and the creative director hat and you're also the one in the trenches, doing a lot of the design that Johan has done over the years.
Bethesda has Todd Howard, Kojima Productions has Kojima, Remedy has Sam Lake… but when you ask who runs these companies, who is the CEO or general manager… you can't name the humble servant [rires] in the wings.
So that's the setup. How can we allow Johan to create more Helldivers, and what I'm bringing is a structure around that.
-Shams Jorjani
For the players, this should not change anything immediately, but a stronger presence of Johan Pilestedt within the creation could therefore be felt in the future.
If Helldiverse 2 interests you, it is currently sold €34.02 on Amazon in its PS5 version and €35.99 at Gamesplanet on PC.
Read also: PS5: sales in decline despite a good year, Helldivers 2 does better than God of War Ragnarök
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| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin's Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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