Helldivers 2 was one of 2024’s biggest games, and while support remains ongoing, many are wondering what developer Arrowhead Studios might make next. We still don’t know, but COO Johan Pilestedt has now confirmed he has an idea for what the team may make next.
Posting on social media, Pilestedt said, “What are your expectations and desires for what the next Arrowhead game will be? I am working on the high concept…”
The executive then invited people to share their “speculation” as to what Arrowhead could build next. One person said they’d like to see Arrowhead make a Star Fox-style game where players zip around on aircraft during on-rails missions before a level becomes open-world during a boss fight. Pilestedt said this matches up with the concept for a game Arrowhead wanted to make, “Eagles of Democracy.” He even shared some images of this title–check them out below.
Someone else said they want to see Arrowhead develop a remake of the 1990 retro twin-stick shooter Smash TV. Pilestedt said his team actually created a high concept for this, saying it was aiming to be a top-down re-imagining of the classic arcade game.
The executive didn’t elaborate as to why these two concepts never materialized. However, it’s not uncommon in the creative process for ideas to be conceived and then never amount to anything.
While fans wait to see what Arrowhead might make next, there is still lots more planned for Helldivers 2 as part of its live-service programming. Its latest DLC, a crossover with Killzone, launched in December and didn’t go over perfectly with fans due its pricing and other issues. Arrowhead made changes and apologized to fans over this.
As of November 2024, Helldivers 2 is the No. 3 best-selling game of 2024, trailing only Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and College Football 25.
