Shams Jorjani, the chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios – the studio behind Helldivers 2 – told GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom that the video‑game sector is currently undergoing a profound transition. He argued that the formulas and playbooks that guided developers and publishers throughout the 2010s have lost much of their relevance in today’s market. "Sometimes there’s been doom and gloom, but overall the games industry is doing well," Jorjani said.
"It’s just that the things that we based our assumptions on have changed fundamentally. The playbooks used from 2010 to 2020 no longer work. The bottom has fallen out of every business case that you had.
No one knew how well a game would sell, but they assumed it would sell at least this much. Whatever that number was, take a zero away. And that’s the reality." He identified several key forces driving this shift. First, the continued rise of developers in the Asia‑Pacific region is reshaping the global landscape.
This year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, for example, highlighted the technical and creative capabilities of studios from China and South Korea, underscoring a trend that has been building for a decade. "There’s always been a general rise of Asian games and companies into the West," Jorjani noted.
"That’s been ongoing for the last 10 years, but now it’s reached a point where it’s game after game after game that’s really making it." China, in particular, appears to have reached a tipping point in terms of production quality. Jorjani observed that while the Chinese market remains heavily mobile‑centric – a factor that influences design sensibilities – the overall pace of development is accelerating, a trend he attributes in part to artificial intelligence. "It is definitely picking up for sure," he said.
"I think that there’s still a way to go, but there are very different sensibilities to what makes the games tick as well. The Chinese audience is still primarily mobile‑driven.
That flavours the sensibilities, but it’s going faster. I think AI is accelerating this because more and more games are coming out faster and faster everywhere." AI, according to Jorjani, is perhaps the most disruptive technology the industry has faced since the advent of VR, and it introduces a level of uncertainty that makes medium‑term forecasting extremely difficult. He highlighted a stark cultural divide in how the technology is embraced. In the West, developers grapple with ethical questions, data‑training rights, and artistic integrity, often debating whether AI should be used at all.
In contrast, many Eastern studios appear less concerned with such issues, adopting AI tools rapidly to streamline code production and content generation. "When you introduce AI to it, I understand that Western game developers have an existential crisis. I am an artist, and I’m also connecting with people on an artistic level, but when you make it into software, it’s just functional. There’s a different attitude there.
The West will be slower on the uptake, but the uptake will still happen," he explained. Beyond technology, Jorjani pointed to the long development timelines that characterize AAA projects as another source of strategic risk. Major titles often require five to six years of work, coordinated across multiple studios and time zones.
This reality pushes publishers toward established franchises and away from new intellectual property, especially in Western markets where financial stakes are high. "Development cycles are still long.
If you know that and the market is changing, you need to be very certain that the bet you’re taking works. The only thing that really, really mitigates risk on that level is brand and recognisability," he said. Recognisable brands such as Worms or Helldivers give investors and consumers a clear expectation, reducing the uncertainty that comes with entirely new concepts.
Jorjani cited data from Steam Replay 2025, noting that roughly 44 % of user playtime was spent on titles between one and seven years old, and that half of the games played on the platform were more than 18 months old. This suggests that while gamers vocalise a desire for fresh experiences, purchasing behaviour still favours familiar names and remakes. Arrowhead’s own success with Helldivers, he admitted, involved a degree of luck and a “secret sauce” that made the game both distinctive and instantly recognisable. He also contrasted the strategic positions of large publishers with those of indie developers.
Companies like Riot Games or Supercell often juggle multiple projects simultaneously; when one title becomes a blockbuster, the others can be eclipsed. Indie studios, however, benefit from shorter cycles and the ability to validate concepts early. "The secret sauce to any successful game is early validation," Jorjani asserted. "The sooner you can get something in front of a person and get positive feedback, you know you’re on track, onto something, and you can iterate.
That's the strength of software development." He illustrated this with the example of Tiny Glade, an indie title that gained rapid traction after the developers shared early GIFs that resonated with the community. By contrast, a four‑year AAA cycle often delays public exposure until the final product is ready, limiting opportunities for iterative improvement based on player input.
Arrowhead plans to adopt a more agile approach for its next project, borrowing tactics from mobile developers who test concepts through ads and measure engagement before committing to full production. "We’re going to be putting it in the hands of players right away as soon as possible," Jorjani said. He described a targeted play‑test strategy: selecting a hundred Helldivers enthusiasts, gauging their preferences for specific IPs (such as alien‑themed games), and using those insights to refine the game’s direction early in development.
This data‑driven, early‑feedback loop, he believes, will help the studio hit a precise audience without waiting for a massive, costly marketing push later on. In summary, Jorjani’s outlook paints a picture of an industry in flux: longer development windows, the rise of Asian talent, and the disruptive influence of AI are reshaping how games are conceived, built, and marketed. While these changes introduce uncertainty, they also create openings for smaller, more nimble studios that can test ideas quickly and connect directly with niche communities.
Arrowhead intends to lean into this new reality, discarding the old playbook of secrecy and long‑term speculation in favour of rapid iteration, early validation, and a laser‑focused understanding of its core audience.