Arrowhead Game Studios AB is an independent Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. It was founded in 2008 by students of Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, with co-founder Johan Pilestedt serving as the company's CEO.
Arrowhead is best known for their 2015 top-down shooter Helldivers, which was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and received positive reviews for its uncompromising gameplay and humor. In May 2023, Arrowhead announced a new title with Sony, a sequel called Helldivers 2.
History[]
2008 - 2013: Early years and projects[]
Arrowhead Game Studios was founded by Johan Pilestedt, Emil Englund, Malin Hedström, Anton Stenmark and Robin Cederholm, all students of Luleå University of Technology, which was located in Skellefteå, Sweden.[1] Pilestedt, a game designer, became the newly-formed studio's chief-executive-officer. While attending the Swedish Game Awards of 2008, which was held at the university, Pilestedt and his friends thought of creating a video game to win at the awards.[2] The studio's name partly came from Pilestedt's surname, which translates to "arrow stead", as well as due to the potential juxtaposition between the word "Arrowhead" - which Pilestedt considered "serious" for a company name - and the goofy nature of the company's logo.[3]
Arrowhead's first game was Magicka, which was first conceived shortly after the group's attendance at the award show presentation. At the height of its development Arrowhead included 8 full-time employees and 4 contractors. The team was influenced by English humorists such as Discworld author Terry Pratchett and the comedy troupe Monty Python.[4], and in addition to pen and paper role-playing games, design was influenced by Nintendo's A Link to the Past.[5]
Partnering with Paradox Interactive as publisher, Arrowhead announced Magicka in 2010.[6] Releasing in 2011, the game received mixed-to-positive reviews, but was a commercial success.[7][8]
2013 - 2015: Sony partnership and Helldivers[]
At Gamescom 2013, it was announced that Arrowhead partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment and its subsidiary San Mateo Studio on the studio's forth title, a top-down shooter called Helldivers, slated to release on Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita platforms.[9] The concept for Helldivers traced back to the development of Magicka, during which Pilestedt played I Made a Game with Zombies in It!, a humorous twin-stick shooter whose premise and design would inspire Arrowhead's creative choices for Helldivers.[10]
Helldivers was originally meant to release in summer 2014,[11] but was delayed to March 2015; it was met with positive reception for its humor and gameplay.[12] A PC port was released in December of that year.[13][14]
Arrowhead continued to support Helldivers for several years through free expansions and content updates, culminating with the "A New Hell" content update in 2018.[15] A final update, "Dive Harder", was released in 2019.[16]
2015 - current: Helldivers 2 development[]
In 2020 the studio announced that its next project would be a third-person cooperative shooter and Arrowhead's first AAA production, to be released on ninth generation hardware and personal computers; development on the game began in 2016.[17] In May 2023, Arrowhead and Sony announced the game as a sequel to Helldivers, titled Helldivers 2, for the PlayStation 5 and PC.[18] Originally slated for an unspecified 2023 release, it was delayed to February 2024.[19] Helldivers 2 proved to be a significant critical and commercial success[20], receiving positive reviews[21] and selling over 12 million copies by May 2024.[22]
On May 22, 2024, Arrowhead named Shams Jorjani as chief executive officer, with Jorjani being a veteran of Arrowhead's previous publisher Pradox Interactive. Pilestedt would remain chief creative officer and chairman; in an interview with GamesIndustry, Pilestedt explained that the move was to help with Arrowhead's structure and leadership following the success of Helldivers 2, while allowing Pilestedt to focus on video game development.[23]
Games[]
| Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helldivers | 2015 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PC | n / a |
| Helldivers 2 | 2024 | PlayStation 5, PC | n / a |
External sites[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.arrowheadgamestudios.com/2013/01/arrowhead-a-semi-brief-history/
- ↑ http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2011/08/arrowhead-studios-interview/
- ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2024/05/16/how-the-names-arrowhead-game-studios-and-helldivers-2-came-to-be/
- ↑ https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/postmortem-arrowhead-game-studios-i-magicka-i-
- ↑ https://gamingbolt.com/magicka-exclusive-interview-with-patrik-lasota-community-manager-at-arrowhead-game-studios
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/22/magicka-first-look
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/magicka/
- ↑ https://www.engadget.com/2012-01-19-magicka-summons-1-3-million-in-sales-new-expansion-in-the-works.html?guccounter=1
- ↑ https://www.arrowheadgamestudios.com/2013/08/our-new-game-helldivers/
- ↑ Arrowhead Game Studios Customer Story, PDF file.
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2014/5/19/5731626/helldivers-release-date
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/helldivers/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/helldivers/critic-reviews/?platform=pc
- ↑ https://www.arrowheadgamestudios.com/2015/11/helldivers-launches-for-pc-on-steam/
- ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/10/helldivers_receives_a_new_hell_update_on_ps4_features_new_weapons_and_enemies
- ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/10/almost_5_years_after_its_release_ps4_ps3_and_vita_co-op_shooter_helldivers_is_getting_a_big_update
- ↑ https://www.arrowheadgamestudios.com/2020/12/arrowhead-game-studios-is-working-on-a-next-generation-3rd-person-cooperative-shooter/
- ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/helldivers-2-drops-on-playstation-5-later-this-year/
- ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-has-a-cool-new-gameplay-trailer-but-its-delayed-to-2024/
- ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-15/-helldivers-2-is-a-surprise-hit-for-sony-in-an-oversaturated-market
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/helldivers-2/
- ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2024/05/helldivers-ii-sales-top-12-million
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/helldivers-2-developer-arrowhead-names-shams-jorjani-as-its-new-ceo