Helldivers 2 was almost a free-to-play game and a PS5 launch title during development, Arrowhead CEO reveals

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani has revealed that “the goal posts were moved a few times” during the development of Helldivers 2, with the title set to be free-to-play at one point.

The details:

• Taking to Discord last week (via GamesRadar), Jorjani discussed the ongoing performance issues in Helldivers 2, stating that the game is struggling from “technical debt.” "Tech debt is like a garage filled with stuff you just chucked in. We really need to put up shelves in the back to get organized,” he wrote. "That requires us taking everything out so we can get to that wall. Problem is everyone is going in and out of the garage daily with a bunch of stuff.”
• Jorjani went on to explain that the debt is a result of various changes in direction throughout development. He shared that while it began as a AA game, it would later grow in scope, with the studio aiming to target a release to coincide with the launch of the PS5. However, this plan would later change once again, moving to a free-to-play game and then back to a premium one-time purchase model. “The goalposts were moved a few times – so the foundations of this big tower were made for a little bungalow on the beach. All this = tech debt = performance is so-so for us."
• The CEO previously shared Arrowhead’s future plans for the series in the same Discord server, revealing that the studio aims to continue supporting Helldivers 2 in a similar manner to RuneScape rather than creating a new game. He confirmed that there are currently “no plans” for Helldivers 3, with Helldivers 2 set to be a “forever game.”

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