To dispel rumors about the acquisition of the game by PlayStation, Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios and creative director of Helldivers 2, took to Twitter.
There had been rumors about Sony acquiring Arrowhead Game Studios, which would add Helldivers 2 to its library of games.
Helldivers 2, a third-person shooter sequel to Helldivers from 2015, was developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Helldivers 2 received positive reviews and sold a million copies in its first three days of release in February 2024 for the PlayStation 5 and Windows platforms.
A century after the first game, Helldivers 2 puts players in the middle of Super Earth’s fight against mechanized enemies known as Automatons and rebellious Terminids.
The story is enhanced by environmental cues and propaganda messages.
Following discussions started by Haothors, a leaker who gained some notoriety after informing the community about Ghost of Tsushima coming to PC, the rumors gained traction and speculation.
Information going around said that Arrowhead Game Studios had already been bought by Sony and that an official announcement was on the way.
But Pilestedt’s swift response on Twitter made things clear and ruled out any such acquisition plans involving Helldivers 2 and Arrowhead Game Studios.
Johan Pilestedt’s Response on Twitter
Johan Pilestedt denied the rumors on Twitter, writing, “This is fake…” I hope I didn’t miss anything. He made the rumors even less true by ignoring an old logo that was linked to the studio’s early days.
This made it clear that the rumors that the studio responsible for the success of Helldivers 2 had been acquired were false.
Leaker Haothors deleted his Twitter account for no apparent reason after Johan Pilestedt made his clarification.
Compared to its predecessor, Helldivers 2, it has a third-person view and no longer supports split-screen co-op.
Other features include friendly fire and an armor system that works like real guns, as well as Stratagems, which let players use different tools during missions.
Helldivers 2 also has multiplayer features that allow up to four players to play together, encouraging cross-platform play, though it lacks a campaign.
This is fake… Unless I’ve missed something.
Given Sony’s track record of strategic acquisitions of well-known game studios like Insomniac Games, Bluepoint Games, Housemarque, Firesprite, and others, the potential acquisition of Helldivers 2 wouldn’t have been too surprising.
The community can continue to enjoy the game without worrying about any impending changes in ownership or exclusivity as Johan Pilestedt’s response dispels the rumors surrounding PlayStation’s acquisition of Helldivers 2.
