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[LakeOf9]

In an era of struggling PlayStation live service offerings, some of which will never see the light of day, a bright spot for Sony has been the huge success of Helldivers 2, the ongoing, co-op PvE game where players band together to fight bugs, bots and now rather smart aliens.

Now, it's been revealed that Helldivers 2 has done so well, that developer Arrowhead's next game is going to be all theirs, and there will be no more Playstation partnership resulting in one-console exclusivity.

‘Helldivers 2’ Studio’s Next Game Will Be Free From PlayStation Partnership

In an era of struggling live service offerings, some of which will never see the light of day, a bright spot for Sony has been the huge success of Helldivers 2

www.forbes.com

Sony, come on...

EDIT: Some context because it looks like the article is a little more inflammatory than the actual thing:

There have been fumbles, as any company does. But they've been an amazing partner throughout. They get a bit too much flack from the community at times. Helldivers wouldn't exist if PlayStation was not so focused on creating cool stuff for players."
-Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios.

Mod Edit: Changed title to be more accurate with what the developers actually said

 

[Lokaum D+]

 

[GymWolf]

So they bought bungie but they are letting arrowhead go away?

 

[R3TRO]

That's actually surprising.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Helldivers 2 isn't exclusive either, so nothing would change, really.

 

[mayham2199]

So they bought bungie but they are letting arrowhead go away?

Sony still owns the IP and frankly the way this company acted they never seemed like they wanted to be bought out to begin with. Whatever game they do next wont be HellDivers related. Watch it bomb and they have to come crawling back to Sony for HD3.

 

[LakeOf9]

Sony still owns the IP and frankly the way this company acted they never seemed like they wanted to be bought out to begin with. Whatever game they do next wont be HellDivers related. Watch it bomb and they have to come crawling back to Sony for HD3.

If Sony hadn't antagonized them so much and constantly interfered with their handling of the game (remember the PSN debacle? it was just a year ago), then maybe they would have had a better chance of keeping Arrowhead in their corner?

 

[LordOcidax]

Helldivers 3 Switch 2 and Xbox versions confirmed… Wait what? I always thought Helldivers was a Sony IP…

 

[Aguero9320]

By the time their next game comes out there won't be many exclusives left anyway.

 

[Punished Miku]

Game probably did better on PC than PS5. PS6 is likely to shrink further, along with the whole console market. The future is not trending towards exclusivity of any kind. Sounds like they get it. This is even more true if you run a live service game.

Sony is obviously the dominant console player now, but kind of the worst company to partner with if you are making a live service game. Rough track record with them with mostly bombs. Their marketing for Helldivers wasn't great either. The success of part 2 surprised a lot of people because the game had very little hype pre-release compared to how big it got.

 

[mayham2199]

If Sony hadn't antagonized them so much and constantly interfered with their handling of the game (remember the PSN debacle? it was just a year ago), then maybe they would have had a better chance of keeping Arrowhead in their corner?

To be honest if that's all it took for arrowhead to bounce from Sony then good riddance. HD2 was in development for almost 8 years. They are lucky Sony didn't cancel the whole project. Sony patiently waited and believed in their project for 8 years and I've even seen the devs praise Sony for that. So I really don't think that's it.

I think they simply want to remain independent and try to grown on their own. IMO this is how it should work anyways. Studios work with a big publisher for extra financing and once they are able to make money and stand on their own they can do that. Then Sony moves on to another up and coming game dev and helps them stand on their own as well. It not only helps Sony it helps the industry in general.

 

[Robot Carnival]

as a long time owner of Sony consoles since PS1, I more than welcome this news. AH did a great job with Helldivers 2 and I hope whatever they make next gets even more players.

 

[StueyDuck]

i mean next game doesn't mean helldivers game.

Arrowhead have made multiplatform titles before in the past

(remember that PC was considered Multiplatform by Exclusive standards back in the day)

 

[LakeOf9]

HD2 was in development for almost 8 years. They are lucky Sony didn't cancel the whole project. Sony patiently waited and believed in their project for 8 years and I've even seen the devs praise Sony for that. So I really don't think that's it.

I agree with this. Sony was an extraordinary partner to Arrowhead during the development of HD2. However: a) their commitment to each other doesn't end there, it continues after release especially for a live service game and b) the leadership team that believed in HD2 all that time is not the leadership team available now. It makes sense they don't necessarily trust the new guys as much as they did the previous ones

I think they simply want to remain independent and try to grown on their own. IMO this is how it should work anyways. Studios work with a big publisher for extra financing and once they are able to make money and stand on their own they can do that. Then Sony moves on to another up and coming game dev and helps them stand on their own as well. It not only helps Sony it helps the industry in general.

I agree, every independent developer should ideally hope for a trajectory like that.

 

[AJUMP23]

Sweet an expanded palyerbase would be great.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Definitely some sour grapes between the two behind the scenes. Arrowhead probably got fed up with Sonys bullshit and decided to part ways.

 

[mayham2199]

Helldivers 3 Switch 2 and Xbox versions confirmed… Wait what? I always thought Helldivers was a Sony IP…

It is owned by Sony. Their next game wont be HD3.

 

[StueyDuck]

If Sony hadn't antagonized them so much and constantly interfered with their handling of the game (remember the PSN debacle? it was just a year ago), then maybe they would have had a better chance of keeping Arrowhead in their corner?

I don't' think this was as big of an issue internally as it was for permanently online gamers.

Sony been buttering their bread for almost all their titles now, would be silly to bite the hand that feeds.

more than likely, they just have the funds now to self publish and can now put their own title (a new IP) on switch and Xbox

 

[mdkirby]

Sony's decisions in recent years have been baffling. Im astounded heads haven't rolled.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[SlimySnake]

Demon Souls was also owned by Sony but once From hit it bit they realized they dont need Sony.

Their next game will be called HeavenDivers.

 

[mayham2199]

Definitely some sour grapes between the two behind the scenes. Arrowhead probably got fed up with Sonys bullshit and decided to part ways.

Someone over a Restera already posted a response from the dev saying they love Sony. People are really blowing this out of proportion creating drama where there is none.

 

[Mr Moose]

Weirdly worded. HDII is on PC. No one cares about Xbox and it wouldn't have ran on Switch.

Nice inflammatory headline by Taul Passi. The original source is this article from video gamer.

Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but studio is still open to working with PlayStation again in the future

The Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but the studio is still open to working with PlayStation again.

www.videogamer.com

Oh, now it makes sense.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Nice inflammatory headline by Taul Passi. The original source is this article from video gamer.

Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but studio is still open to working with PlayStation again in the future

The Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but the studio is still open to working with PlayStation again.

www.videogamer.com

On the Helldivers Discord, Arrowhead CEO, Shams Jorjani, regularly communicates with the fanbase. Remarking on the critical and commercial success of Helldivers 2, Jorjani said, "the wonderful thing is that thanks to the amazing support of you FINE people, Arrowhead's future is quite bright and we have the freedom to explore some really cool concepts that we couldn't have otherwise. Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you".

In response to one user pleading for Arrowhead's next game to "be available in all regions," Jorjani revealed that the studio's "next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots".

While this means the studio's next game will be independent of Sony, Jorjani stressed that "PlayStation are great" and that "there would be no Helldivers if it wasn't for them". The CEO added that Sony are "incredibly game/dev oriented, solid partners," and that Arrowhead are "open to working with them again in the future".

There are no details about what Arrowhead's next game could be, but "a very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it slowly". The Arrowhead CEO also assured fans that "Helldivers is our [Arrowhead's] main focus and will be for a loooong time," and that the studio can keep HD2 going "As long as you folk keep playing and buying super credits".

 

[StueyDuck]

Sony's decisions in recent years have been baffling. Im astounded heads haven't rolled.

That seems to just be gaming right now, Ubi is dying, MS is transitioning to Sega 3rd party, and Nintendo are going full "arrogant Sony" with the NS2.

and that's leaving out the usual BS shenanigans from EA, 2K and Blizzard (yes, i know it's MS now)

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Sony's decisions in recent years have been baffling. Im astounded heads haven't rolled.

Shu Yoshida went out.

For creating expensive single player games.

 

[LordOcidax]

It is owned by Sony. Their next game wont be HD3.

Ohh ok, Sony should buy those devs ASAP.

 

[Punished Miku]

Nice inflammatory headline by Taul Passi. The original source is this article from video gamer.

Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but studio is still open to working with PlayStation again in the future

The Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but the studio is still open to working with PlayStation again.

www.videogamer.com

In his defense, the headline actually isn't inflammatory at all. They are promising it's not PS exclusive or partnered. It's just a very literal headline. They're saying it's 100% self-funded.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

LOL, Paul Tassi doing Paul Tassi things. This is a charged headline and it has nothing to do with being negative against Sony or not wanting to partner with them.

As a studio they want to try and get the most return by self publishing their next game.

 

[StueyDuck]

Ohh ok, Sony should buy those devs ASAP.

im hoping (praying) that the race to own studios died when MS went 3rd party, that little arms race caused more issues than it solved.

 

[DenchDeckard]

This is just business.

It's not like these studios don't want their games on every platform possible and in front of the most people as possible. They just want sales and players.

 

[onQ123]

This is what he actually said

 

[mayham2199]

Ohh ok, Sony should buy those devs ASAP.

Can't buy what's not for sell. Arrowhead quickly shutdown any rumors of being purchased by Sony early on.

 

[Sebastian1295]

Nice inflammatory headline by Taul Passi. The original source is this article from video gamer.

Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but studio is still open to working with PlayStation again in the future

The Helldivers 2 devs' next game is "100% funded" by Arrowhead, but the studio is still open to working with PlayStation again.

www.videogamer.com

Are we surprised that paul tassi is being misleading. Dude has had his head up phil spencer and microsofts ass since he's been working at forbes and he loves to throw out misleading headlines to distract from the fact that he's a shit journalist.

 

[nial]

So they bought bungie but they are letting arrowhead go away?

If Sony hadn't antagonized them so much and constantly interfered with their handling of the game (remember the PSN debacle? it was just a year ago), then maybe they would have had a better chance of keeping Arrowhead in their corner?

Game probably did better on PC than PS5. PS6 is likely to shrink further, along with the whole console market. The future is not trending towards exclusivity of any kind. Sounds like they get it. This is even more true if you run a live service game.

Sony is obviously the dominant console player now, but kind of the worst company to partner with if you are making a live service game. Rough track record with them with mostly bombs. Their marketing for Helldivers wasn't great either. The success of part 2 surprised a lot of people because the game had very little hype pre-release compared to how big it got.

To be honest if that's all it took for arrowhead to bounce from Sony then good riddance. HD2 was in development for almost 8 years. They are lucky Sony didn't cancel the whole project. Sony patiently waited and believed in their project for 8 years and I've even seen the devs praise Sony for that. So I really don't think that's it.

I think they simply want to remain independent and try to grown on their own. IMO this is how it should work anyways. Studios work with a big publisher for extra financing and once they are able to make money and stand on their own they can do that. Then Sony moves on to another up and coming game dev and helps them stand on their own as well. It not only helps Sony it helps the industry in general.

Definitely some sour grapes between the two behind the scenes. Arrowhead probably got fed up with Sonys bullshit and decided to part ways.

Sony's decisions in recent years have been baffling. Im astounded heads haven't rolled.

There have been fumbles, as any company does. But they've been an amazing partner throughout. They get a bit too much flack from the community at times. Helldivers wouldn't exist if PlayStation was not so focused on creating cool stuff for players."
-Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios.

 

[LordOcidax]

im hoping (praying) that the race to own studios died when MS went 3rd party, that little arms race caused more issues than it solved.

Sony said that they would continue acquiring companies on their last financials. Is not going to stop.

 

[Punished Miku]

This is what he actually said

They even literally used the word freedom. I can't believe how sensitive you people get about basic headlines. Ridiculous.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

There have been fumbles, as any company does. But they've been an amazing partner throughout. They get a bit too much flack from the community at times. Helldivers wouldn't exist if PlayStation was not so focused on creating cool stuff for players."
-Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Someone over a Restera already posted a response from the dev saying they love Sony. People are really blowing this out of proportion creating drama where there is none.

Of course they say that on a public forum. They're not stupid to burn bridges out in the open.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

basically what happened with Kojima too. Sony helps out on a game, it becomes successful enough for a dev to do multiplat and fund it on their own.
This isn't an L, actually a W that Sony helps out talent when needed.

 

[hemo memo]

Definitely some sour grapes between the two behind the scenes. Arrowhead probably got fed up with Sonys bullshit and decided to part ways.

The PS Steam link account issue gave them a lot of stress I believe.

 

[FrankWza]

Of course they say that on a public forum. They're not stupid to burn bridges out in the open.

Who do you think this thread topic was whispered to and in which top secret laboratory?

 

[nial]

Of course they say that on a public forum. They're not stupid to burn bridges out in the open.

Helldivers 2 is a GAAS that is getting and will get continued support from years to come that is, very obviously, all funded by Sony. You need to explain your reasoning of 'burning bridges out' here.

 

[LakeOf9]

There have been fumbles, as any company does. But they've been an amazing partner throughout. They get a bit too much flack from the community at times. Helldivers wouldn't exist if PlayStation was not so focused on creating cool stuff for players."
-Shams Jorjani, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios.

This is all great context, I will add it to the OP

 

[mayham2199]

Of course they say that on a public forum. They're not stupid to burn bridges out in the open.

Well now you've put yourself in a position where nothing the devs say can convince you otherwise. It's strange how you are so quick to believe that they have an issue with Sony with very little proof. Yet when provided with direct quotes from the devs\studio saying they love Sony that's not enough for you.

 

[nial]

This is all great context, I will add it to the OP

Here's the source to the first quote, btw:

How six million Call of Duty players sent Helldivers 2 into a tailspin

“Games that get 19% user score do not generally recover”

www.thegamebusiness.com

Demon Souls was also owned by Sony but once From hit it bit they realized they dont need Sony.

Their next game will be called HeavenDivers.

And From Software still went on to work on two Sony productions afterwards. Funny how that works.

 

[tTHANOSs]

Independent studio wants to make an independent game. I'm shocked. Arrowhead is still a pretty small studio. I wouldn't expect a solo game from them for a while. Also still lots of work to be done in HD2. Also article by Forbes.....

 

[mayham2199]

Demon Souls was also owned by Sony but once From hit it bit they realized they dont need Sony.

Their next game will be called HeavenDivers.

Demon Souls was different because Sony did legitimately piss From off. This was revealed by Shu.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Shouldn't be surprising. Tencent invested in Arrowhead.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Treason will be dealt with accordingly