Arrowhead Studios confirms that the surprise Xbox port was entirely Sony’s call, calling it “one of the coolest things they’ve done”.
Fans and people who follow the gaming industry were both surprised when Helldivers 2 was announced to be coming to Xbox. It turns out that Sony, not the game’s developer, Arrowhead Studios, was behind the port.
According to a recent report, the choice to bring the game to Xbox Series X|S was made by higher-ups at PlayStation. Arrowhead’s leadership confirmed that they were not the ones who made the move. Former Chief Executive Officer of Arrowhead, Johan Pilestedt, told fans on Discord where the thanks should go:
“All of it was PlayStation.” Thank them. Of course, we were all in favor. When asked if he thought Sony would ever agree to an Xbox release, Pilestedt was very positive. “I enjoy what they did very much.” They’re killing it.
The news comes as a surprise because the PlayStation and Xbox environments have long had walls that kept them from each other. It was said that even Arrowhead’s team knew that an Xbox version wasn’t going to happen until Sony changed its mind.
All eyes are now on Xbox and how Helldivers 2 does on Xbox. Cross-platform barriers are still coming down, and Sony is doing some bold, surprising things. This could be a turning point in how the platform leader handles its biggest multiplayer games. One thing is for sure right now: Sony is the one loading the drop pods in this case.
