Johan Pilestedt, the creative director of Arrowhead studio, delivered a speech at the GDC 2025 conference. Specifically, he discussed the current crisis in the gaming industry.
Helldivers 2
“The industry is caught in a vicious cycle of death and rebirth. Periodically, we suddenly lay off thousands of people, and no one understands why,” stated Pilestedt. Personally, he sees the cause in the chase for trends, where all studios begin competing for the same niche.
As a result, major companies do not care about diversifying their portfolios or leveraging their strengths. Instead, they unsuccessfully attempt to create identical, faceless products. Poor planning and a lack of creative risks lead to layoffs, the latest wave of which Pilestedt called “unreasonably cruel.”
“We need to make more diverse games because people are playing more than ever, yet we are unable to make the business sustainable. It’s just ridiculous. If everyone stopped making battle royales and started working in other genres, we wouldn’t be in this situation now,” Pilestedt believes.
He specifically addressed publishers who only invest in the safest projects. According to the developer, publishers' reluctance to take risks ultimately becomes a death sentence for the developers.
“Few believed that Helldivers would achieve any success, yet look where it has brought us,” Pilestedt concluded.