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Arrowhead Keeps 95% of Its Team on Helldivers 2, and Helldivers 3 Must Stand Apart

Johan Pilestedt says 95% of Arrowhead is updating Helldivers 2, while a small team prototypes a project he has not identified as Helldivers 3.

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Four armored Helldivers pose with weapons against a bright yellow background.

Arrowhead has no plans to release another Helldivers game any time soon, and 95% of its team is working on Helldivers 2 updates. CCO Johan Pilestedt said a small team is prototyping the studio’s next game, though he has not identified it as Helldivers 3. The work remains at a very early stage. In his interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Pilestedt framed Helldivers 2 as the biggest competition a sequel would face.

Pilestedt’s concern is not only the risk of splitting the audience. He said a sequel “resets everything and forces players to start over,” while “a continuation turns the game into a lifelong hobby, like Lego or Warhammer.” He described players as the game’s “actual engine,” pointing to a community that brings in friends, makes memes, and keeps Helldivers 2 alive. When that community is active, he sees no need for a sequel.

A third game would need to be different enough for Helldivers 2 and its follow-up to exist side by side. Otherwise, Helldivers 2 itself could split the sequel’s audience by competing for the same players. Pilestedt allows that a sequel could make sense if players stop showing up for the current game. For now, he says, improving Helldivers 2 makes more sense than throwing away its momentum.

The position echoes ideas Pilestedt discussed in December 2025 for expanding Helldivers 2 with sequel-scale additions, including eight-player missions and larger open-world maps.

What would Helldivers 3 need to change to stand alongside Helldivers 2 without competing for its players? Follow Arrowhead’s plans for Helldivers 2 and its next-game prototype on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

Helldivers 2 is a cooperative third-person shooter in which squads of up to four players are deployed from orbit onto hostile planets to complete strategic missions. Players select loadouts of weapons, armor, and stratagems that allow them to call in orbital strikes, supply drops, vehicles, and turrets during combat. Friendly fire is always active, requiring coordination between teammates. The game features a persistent galactic war where community-wide performance determines which planets are liberated or lost.