Helldivers 2 studio exposes worst moment after meeting with PlayStation boss

Helldivers 2 was one of the surprise releases of 2024. Being a sequel to a little-known PlayStation 4 game, it got a huge audience to pay attention to it, which is why Arrowhead, the studio in charge of the project, was surprised. A few bugs caused a minor revolt, but it was brief. The problem arose at the title's Steam launch.

Sony announced that in order to enjoy the game, players had to link their Steam account to their PlayStation Network account. This led to more than 100,000 negative reviews within 48 hours and the game's withdrawal from more than 150 countries. Although the decision was later reversed, it was an event that caused insecurity for Sony and Arrowhead.

On The Game Business podcast, Arrowhead Director Shams Jorjani talked about the most tense moment, when the head of PlayStation called him to revive the game. "Perhaps the lowest point during my tenure so far," Jorjani told them. "I had to explain to the CEO why things were in the state they were in and what we were going to do to recover. And I had to tell the uncomfortable truth that there is nothing to do in the short term. But in the long term, we have plans that will get us back on track."

In addition, Jorjani admitted that he was inspired by Hello Games' previous experience with No Man's Sky, because of the game's journey from release to years after its release. "The game got a lot of hype, then it flopped, and then they got on with it and just updated the game."

What do you think of Helldivers 2?