Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 CEO clears up Sony acquisition rumours

Fans reckon that Sony buying Helldivers 2's Arrowhead Game Studios would be the smartest move on the table - but the developer's CEO isn't so sure that it's happening right now.

Joseph Kime

Joseph Kime

06th Mar 2024 11:05

Image via Arrowhead Game Studios | Naughty Dog

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Despite its infancy, Helldivers 2 has been an incredible and raucous success - but quietly, we can imagine that Sony is reeling. The game has brought shooter fans back into Sony's fold after many years of priding itself on producing high-quality, emotionally driven, story-based titles.

It's clear that what Sony was missing was a silly, satirical shooter that breaks bugs down into goo and distributes democracy across the cosmos. That's even if we couldn't have said so before the launch of Arrowhead Game Studios' immense success.

After Sony has enjoyed the influx of users from Helldivers 2, fans have been keeping an eye on its plans when considering the current state of acquisitions in the industry. Now, Arrowhead's own CEO has wasted no time in clearing rumours that Sony is after them.

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO clears up Sony acquisition rumours

One fan theorised that Sony would be wise to buy up Arrowhead Game Studios as the masterminds behind Helldivers 2, serving as a way to stay on top of Xbox's huge ownership over development teams. They noted that now probably isn't the time due to Sony's mass layoffs, but they attest it'd be a good plan.

This caught the attention of the Helldivers 2 CEO, but it seems he isn't so sure. In a response to a fan-made graphic welcoming the company to the PlayStation Studios family, Johan Pilestedt has said “This is the first I hear of this… and that’s a good indication that it’s fake."

Pilestedt even bolted on a snarky jab at the theory too, adding "Also, very old logo." Meow. By the sounds of it, Arrowhead is quite happy with its independence for now. 

Would Sony want to absorb Arrowhead Game Studios?

It looks as though the ongoing trend of huge company buy-outs in the industry has slowed for a minute as the gaming world's giants have laid off massive amounts of staff in order to stay afloat after shelling out billions for game companies - Xbox with Activision Blizzard, and PlayStation with Bungie.

900 staff members were released from employment at Sony's gaming arm, and it's a pretty embarrassing show for everyone involved. It indicates that after Sony botched its sales estimations for the PS5, it's not doing so hot money-wise.

There's a good chance that Sony would eye up Arrowhead for its incredible success with Helldivers 2, but to reach out with an offer would be immensely careless given how it outwardly appears to be strapped for cash. Still, it doesn't seem to matter - Arrowhead is doing its own thing right now, and it's working incredibly well. If it ain't broke…

Joseph Kime

About The Author

Joseph Kime

Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.

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