Sony Acquisition Rumors Denied by Helldivers 2 Studio CEO

Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, has recently silenced circulating rumors about the potential acquisition of the studio by Sony. Arrowhead Game Studios, the independent Swedish team behind the hit game Helldivers 2, continues to affirm its autonomy amidst the wave of current studio acquisitions within the industry.

Founded in 2008 by a group of students, the studio has a successful line-up of releases including Magicka, The Showdown Effect, Gauntlet, and the Helldivers series. The recent launch of Helldivers 2, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, marks Arrowhead's most significant game to date, and Sony's biggest-ever PC game launch.

The game made its debut on PlayStation 5 and Windows platforms on February 8, 2024. Earning positive reviews from gaming enthusiasts, it made an impressive sales record of approximately one million copies within the initial three days post-release and it had over 200 thousand concurrent players on Steam just one week after release. 

The rumor, which had been spreading rapidly, suggested that Sony was set to announce the acquisition of Arrowhead Game Studios soon, partly fueled by an image that was purportedly used to 'announce' the acquisition.

Pilestedt took to Twitter, categorically stating, "This is fake… unless I've missed something." He further clarified that the image involved displayed an "old logo from 2008 or so when we had just started the studio," rather than their current one.

The rapid response from Pilestedt didn't stop there. Addressing another recent tweet claiming Arrowhead's ownership by Sony, he stated emphatically, "We are not owned. We are independently owned!". Despite the busy schedule of managing the successful venture of Helldivers 2, Pilestedt showed a firm commitment to dispelling misinformation and upholding the studio's independent status.

While the popularity and success of Helldivers 2 might make an acquisition by a major publisher like Sony a plausible scenario, Pilestedt's prompt responses indicate that, at least for now, Arrowhead Game Studios is content with its current independent status, which is a characteristic it has maintained for over a decade.

Speaking of Helldivers 2, Arrowhead Game Studios has recently released further details about their philosophies on weapon and stratagem balancing for the latest patch, and all subsequent patches on their official Arrowhead blog. At the start of this week, developers declared that mechs will soon be introduced to the game.

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