Helldivers 2 developers Arrowhead have reassured fans that they are not abandoning the game to focus on their next project, known as "Game 6." Following the launch of the full-scale Illuminate invasion, CEO Shams Jorjani took to the official Helldivers Discord to address concerns.

Jorjani emphasized the positive impact of the community's support, stating, "The wonderful thing is that thanks to the amazing support of you FINE people Arrowhead's future is quite bright and we have the freedom to explore some really cool concepts that we couldn't have otherwise. Game 6 (our next project) will happen the way it will happen thanks to you." However, a fan worried that this meant Arrowhead was diverting resources from Helldivers 2.

Jorjani quickly dispelled these fears, affirming, "Nah. It's ALL Helldivers 2 for now. A very, very small team will spin up something later this year and go at it sloowly. Helldivers is our main focus and will be for a loooong time." He further clarified that content updates for Helldivers 2 would continue "as long as you folks keep playing and buying Super Credits," the game's virtual currency used to purchase Premium Warbonds. Jorjani acknowledged past struggles but highlighted a turnaround, crediting the community's support for a bright future.

In an interesting twist, Jorjani responded to a fan's call for Arrowhead's next game to be available in all regions, stating, "The next game is 100% funded by ourselves so we'll call 100% of those shots." This suggests that Arrowhead will self-fund Game 6 and avoid the region-locking issues faced with Helldivers 2, which was published by Sony.

Discussing the development of Game 6, Jorjani contrasted it with the challenging eight-year development of Helldivers 2, noting, "For the most part of the development cycle games plain suck. Very seldom are they truly fun from the get-go. And for Helldivers taking eight years to make it was rough for the longest time. But it came together in the end. The ONLY way to know is to playtest playtest playtest. For our next game we're doing things in a much smarter way and nailing a lot of the core s**t early on (as you should) then make the rest."

These comments align with previous statements from Arrowhead developers who expressed their desire for Helldivers 2 to endure for many years. The game, which is the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios title ever, with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, has faced numerous challenges since its release, including changes to PSN account requirements on Steam and community backlash over game balance adjustments. Despite these hurdles, production director Alex Bolle told IGN, "we want it to be around for years and years and years to come."

Bolle elaborated on the team's vision, saying, "How do we stay true to the Helldivers 2 fantasy, challenging enough that we keep making amazing new features and new systems and all that while we stay true to who we are? And I think it's something that is so motivating for the years to come. The more we figure out how to thrive in a live environment, and we still have a way to go to figure out a lot of things around that, the more we can let creativity loose on new systems that we would've never thought about a year ago when we released. I've worked on live games before and it's where you feel like you have something you can figure out: what if I would do this cool thing I've seen in other games and adapt it to our sauce, that still makes it true to ourselves? I'm looking forward to this moment."

Recent leaks, including one from PlayStation, hint at the upcoming release of Super Earth as a playable map, signaling the Illuminate's arrival on our home planet.