Now the former CEO of Arrowhead Studios, Pilestedt gave a talk called "You won't believe this actually happened, and neither do we" at the Nordic Game Spring 2024 event. He talked about the success of Helldivers 2, how the studio works, the problems they faced and why it took them so long to create a sequel to an already popular game.
Initially envisioned as a cooperative action shooter, the game aimed to place players in the roles of “bad guys” in the galaxy, akin to stormtroopers from popular culture. Pilestedt explained: “The concept was inspired by the idea of being one of the background characters, like the stormtroopers who try to breach the cellblock in Star Wars and end up getting shot by Han Solo. The question posed is whether players could fare better in such a scenario, trying to capture enemies while defending their stronghold, similar to the Death Star, and surviving a galactic war without advanced armor.”
However, the development process proved far more complex and time-consuming than initially anticipated. “We got asked if we wanted to do a sequel to Helldivers, and we said ‘yeah, I think that sounds like a lot of fun because it’ll be easy.’ We already know the game… could probably do it in three years,” Pilestedt stated. Despite this optimistic outlook, the project spanned nearly eight years instead of the estimated three.
One major challenge was the rapid expansion of the development team. Initially consisting of about 10 people for Helldivers 1, the team grew to 16 by the end of that project. When development for Helldivers 2 began, the team quickly merged with another, resulting in a sudden increase to 35 members, and eventually swelled to 100. Managing such rapid growth proved difficult, causing persistent issues that the team struggled to resolve, often finding themselves playing catch-up.
“The team’s initial ways of working, which suited a small, flexible group, became problematic as the team expanded,” Pilestedt explained. Quick, informal decision-making processes led to chaos and miscommunication within the larger organization. This chaos not only affected project efficiency but also contributed to stress and decreased productivity. The reluctance to adopt more structured, corporate processes further enlarged these problems. “The team wanted to maintain an indie spirit and avoid the pitfalls of large organizations dominated by politics. However, this idealism conflicted with the practical needs of managing a much larger team effectively”, he concluded.
Pilestedt emphasized that organizational structure, proper planning, and effective processes are not mutually exclusive with maintaining a flexible and dynamic team environment. “Without proper structure and planning, an organization might swing too far in the other direction, resulting in excessive process rigidity and over-organization, where communication paths become strictly enforced and cumbersome,” he noted.
During Helldivers 2’s development, the team struggled to let go of their small-team ways, creating significant design, technical, and art debt. While manageable in a small team, this debt became overwhelming in a larger organization, leading to an accumulation of unfinished tasks and inefficiencies. Additionally, typical development challenges like scope creep and changing business models compounded their difficulties. At one point, they faced a significant setback when Autodesk discontinued the Stingray engine they were using, forcing them to consider building their own.
Despite the obstacles, Pilestedt credits the team's endurance to their "perseverance, togetherness and compassion." The team's determination, mutual trust and compassion for the players were the driving forces that got them through the tough times. The team kept pushing back deadlines and increasing the scope of work, but they were never able to catch up, creating a constant state of trying to catch up. Pilestedt concluded, “Maintaining a balance between flexibility and structure is key in game development. Without that balance, the rapid growth and changing demands of a project can lead to significant challenges, as we experienced with Helldivers 2.”
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