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In case you missed it, Arrowhead has a new CEO. Shams Jorjani, a gaming industry veteran, took over when Pilestedt (the former CEO) decided to focus on the creative rather than the business side of Helldivers 2. Pilestedt assumed the position of the Chief Creative Officer (CCO). At the time of writing this article, it’s been a week since Jorjani started working at his new position. To mark the successful first week, the CEO took to Reddit to introduce himself to Helldivers 2 fans.
A CEO Walks Among The Helldivers
Jorjani started by saying: “My name is Shams Jorjani and I’m the new CEO of Arrowhead! I wanted to DROP BY to say hello, introduce myself, get a conversation going with y’all, and set some expectations. Much like Pilestedt (or Pilen as I call him) himself I’m mainly on Twitter/shamsjorjani – but I’m a colossal Reddit nerd and read a lot of posts on this subreddit”.
He went on to explain how he met Pilestedt 16 years ago when Arrowhead made Magicka. In 2009, Arrowhead partnered with Paradox Interactive, and the duo started working together for the first time. You might remember Magicka as being awesome, but Jorjani stated that it was also kind of a mess, and needed a whole bunch of patches. The team worked tirelessly, they put out 14 patches in just 12 days. They expected some backlash from the fans, but the community stood by them and defended them.
Jorjani explained: “I mention this story because there are a lot of similarities between HD2 and Magicka. A lot of the fundamentals of how we worked, how we make games and support them was established there and carried on to today”.
The New CEO’s Years of Experience in the Industry
While Arrowhead/Paradox worked only on one more game together, Jorjani and Pilestedt stayed close friends ever since, with Jorjani helping out occasionally. He joked: “Over the years I’ve helped Arrowhead with stuff on the business, strategy, and leadership side – you might say that I’m a Business & Leadership Main Class and a Game/Product as a Secondary class – a bit of a mirror image to Pilen who’s a Design/Game Main but also has spent a fair bit of time in business”.
Jorjani also talked about his “12 short and fun years”. He explained that he helped many games succeed, but that he also had several games fail miserably. He said: “Over the years I screwed up a ton and learnt even more. It was the best school I’ve ever attended”. The self-professed Star Trek nerd also serves as the chairman/advisor for indie publisher Hooded Horse. In his spare time, he enjoys playing a ton of games. He’s also hosted a podcast for the last six years.
What Can Players expect for the future of Helldivers 2?
Jorjani shared the four pillars that will help Helldivers 2 become what the players want it to be.
- “This whole switcheroo is all about getting Pilen closer to the games. Making new games/prototypes, having more time to play Helldivers, working closer to Micke our excellent Game Director, and the many other designers/devs we have”. Jorjani explained how he charged Pilestedt “with being the Obi-wan to many “Lukes” in our studio”.
- “Keep working closely with Sony and improve the game for as many people as possible. They’re an amazing partner and we really, really really wouldn’t have had HD2 if it wasn’t for them”.
- “MOAR”. Simply put, fans will always ask for more content, more fixes, simply more everything. Jorjani hopes they’ll be able to deliver.
- “Dialogue”. We all know that this is an important one. With the current track record, we hope they’ll keep at it. Jorjani said: ” think Pilen has set a great precedent talking so plainly and directly with the community about the game. He’s our ambassador and he’ll keep being our BIG voice. But I’ll be here as well”.
Jorjani also added that they’d gladly accept constructive criticism, but asked the fans not to go as far as threaten the devs. He stated: “As you can probably tell I’m a straight shooter – I expect you to be as well – the only thing I ask is that we keep things civil and constructive. We shape the community we want to have and we all have a better time (and by extension a better game) if we keep things nice”.
A Warm Welcome From Helldivers 2 Fans
Redditors and dedicated Helldivers were very pleased with Jorjani’s introduction. Hopefully, this set the tone for future interactions as well. Reciprocity2209 said: “I’m optimistic about you taking over, Shams. Not because I know anything about you, but because Johan [Pilestedt] trusts you and your presence frees him up to guide the game’s course. Johan’s been nothing but straight with us and his faith in you is enough for me”.
Aegis320 added: “Good to know you go so far back. I remember playing Magicka ages ago. Banger little Indie game. Reddit threads can be a little toxic but there are a lot of good ideas here usually”. Another player, reallymiish, praised: “Just wanna say thank you, guys, for doing the impossible… making a video game flamethrower that actually kicks serious ass! Primarch Vulkan would be proud”.
It isn’t every day that a big company’s CEO reaches out to the fans, but this lovely gesture provides Helldivers 2 players with a hopeful outlook for the future. We sincerely wish that this openness and directness will continue. With a duo like Pilestedt and Jorjani, the future of the game is in great hands.