Arrowhead Game Studios has already begun work on its next game, but how does a developer follow a galactic success as beloved as Helldivers 2? Former CEO and current CCO Johan Pilestedt says whatever the team does next will "continue the legacy" of the co-op sensation.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ at The Golden Joystick Awards 2025, where Helldivers 2 was up for the 'Still Playing' trophy, Pilestedt said the developer is currently in his favorite phase of production: the beginning. "It's the part that I love the most," he explains. "When you get a new team together, break down all the boundaries between each other, really get to the heart of who we are as people, and what games do we want to make together."
What is it that Arrowhead devs want to make? Well, it's really a kind of continuation of what came before. "We're looking to continue the legacy of what we've created already," Pilestedt adds. "It won't be something that's too far off from Helldivers, so all of the people that are massive Helldivers fans will be able to jump into the next game as well and recognize the DNA, at least."
You can interpret that in however you wish. Maybe it means Arrowhead is ploughing ahead with another co-op concept. Maybe it just means the company wants to hit the same high bar a second time. Just don't take that "DNA" quote too literally – CEO Shams Jorjani recently said Helldivers 3 is "hopefully many years away" as the team want to keep expanding its current shooter for as long as people are playing.
As for more concrete clues, Jorjani also likened the Helldivers 2 studio to Elden Ring and Dark Souls maker FromSoftware in its insistence that "we stick to our design guns and design what we think makes sense for us rather than try to go for the widest audience possible."
