Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead will self-fund next game: 'We'll call 100% of the shots'

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Arrowhead, the studio behind Helldivers 2, won't be working with Sony as an external publisher or partner on their next game.

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With at least 12 million copies sold, Helldivers 2 has been a megaton success for Swedish indie studio Arrowhead. The game apparently has done so well that Arrowhead can now self-fund their own games and keep all development decisions in-house.

Company CEO Shams Jorjani confirmed the news on Discord, saying that the move to internal development will allow Arrowhead to "call 100% of the shots."

"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.

"The next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots."

Jorjani is careful not to disparage Sony, who has been an integral partner for both Helldivers games, especially Helldivers 2, where Sony gave the studio a lot of extra time to complete the game.

When asked if the decision to self-fund Game 6 had anything to do with a bad experience with Sony/PlayStation, Jorjani said:

"No way. PlayStation are great. there would be no Helldivers if it wasn't for them. We're open to working with them again in the future. They are incredibly game/dev oriented. Solid partners, and this is me just saying it like it is. Not blowing smoke up their asses."

At the same time, Sony did kick the hornet's nest and inadvertently instigate controversy with Helldivers 2's PSN requirement on PC, which would have forced game owners to make a PlayStation Network account and sign in before a cut off date. After that date, users would not be able to play Helldivers 2 without making an account. This debacle heavily affected the game's overall goodwill among fans and consumers, and Sony later reversed this decision.

Another key point: Helldivers 2 is only available on PlayStation and PC. Arrowhead "calling the shots" will allow the team to release their games on more platforms, including the Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S for more potential sales.

The news comes on the same day that PlayStation lost a key first-party studio executive.

Reports indicate that Haven Studios founder Jade Raymond has left the studio. Haven is currently working on PlayStation live service shooter Fairgames.