Arrowhead Game Studios said it has heard the “fair” but “painful to read” criticisms from the Helldivers 2 community and has made the promise to take action with more frequent communication in the future.
Johan Pilestedt, who previously served as studio CEO before switching his role to chief creative officer in May 2024, got in touch with fans of the PlayStation shooter with a Reddit AMA during the weekend. He said his goal was to address the “hate, misinformation, and disappointment” within the growing r/HelldiversUnfiltered subreddit and then spent time replying to some of the most common complaints from the community.
Although it’s unclear if the Helldivers 2 AMA itself did anything to ease the tension, what was clear was that it had opened the floodgates for disappointed players to air their frustrations. After the event concluded, the Arrowhead developer signed off with a lengthy message in an attempt to provide comfort to those who feared the studio wouldn’t take action to address concerns related to progression, bugs, and communication in general.
“I did this AMA because I saw the disappointment, criticism and mistrust in this subreddit,” Pilestedt said. “And it got to me, I wanted to get a better sense and understanding of what was at the heart of it. A lot of the points that you make are fair. Some are very painful to read. But I know that it comes from a group of players that care deeply about Helldivers and wants it to remain special.”
He continued, acknowledging pleas for things like old systems, gear, progression, resources, and the Galactic War to receive more attention from Arrowhead. The message also highlighted those who believe Arrowhead has prioritized Warbonds instead of long-asked-for fixes to the core Helldivers 2 experience.
Pilestedt assured these same fans that putting the community’s desire on the back burner is “not the intent” but acknowledged that “perception matters.” As a result, he told fans to expect frequent, targeted communication, starting with the promise to go directly to the Arrowhead team to speak with them about more accurately meeting fans’ expectations.
“You want us to communicate better – That means accurate patch notes, transparency around priorities, more accurate known issues and less reliance on me, or someone from Arrowhead randomly jumping in to figure things out (like this!),” Pilestedt added. “When our communication fails, you guys fill in the blanks. And right now, many of those blanks are being filled with mistrust – and that’s on us.”
Perhaps the most direct way the Helldivers 2 developer chose to address feedback was his promise to return once every other week to touch base with the community. It won’t result in a better Helldivers 2 today, but it seems he hopes it will build a foundation to see the change players are asking for “in the coming weeks, months and year.”
“This conversation has helped me understand your frustration a whole lot better,” Pilestedt continued. “This is not only a demand for more – it is a demand for meaningful changes, higher standards, better maintained systems and clearer communication, and in the end, a game that continues to feel worthy of the passion you, the community, has given it.
“Thank you to everyone who participated constructively, especially when you were angry. That means you still care.”
Helldivers 2 has been on quite the rollercoaster ride since its explosive February 2024 launch. After releasing for PC and PlayStation 5 to strong player numbers and reviews (we gave it a 9/10), the Sony sequel has faced a series of controversial moments related to Killzone cosmetics, PlayStation Network requirements, balance changes, and more. Things escalated to such a degree that, in June 2025, Arrowhead released an in-game cape related to the PSN review-bombing fiasco.
Arrowhead said in April 2025 that its goal is for Helldivers 2 to be around “for years and years to come.” While we wait to see if it will be successful, you can see the latest on the Helldivers movie starring Jason Momoa. You can also read up on the Exo Experts Warbond that was revealed last week.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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