Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani Says the Foundations of Our Assumptions Have Shifted Dramatically as the Games Industry Evolves Rapidly

Shams Jorjani, the chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios—the studio behind the upcoming title Helldivers 2—recently told GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom that the video‑game sector is undergoing a profound transition. He argues that the tactics and business models that sustained developers and publishers throughout the 2010s have lost much of their effectiveness in today’s market. "Sometimes there’s been doom and gloom, but overall the games industry is doing well," Jorjani remarked.

"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 outlined several forces driving this shift. First, the continued rise of developers from the Asia‑Pacific region is reshaping the global landscape.

This year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live highlighted the capabilities of studios from China and South Korea, demonstrating that Asian creators are no longer peripheral players but central contributors to the worldwide catalogue of games. "There’s always been a general rise of Asian games and companies into the West," Jorjani said. "That’s been ongoing for the last ten 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 arrived at a tipping point in terms of production quality. Jorjani noted that while the Chinese market remains heavily mobile‑centric—an orientation that influences design sensibilities—the overall standard of console and PC titles from Chinese studios is climbing rapidly.

"It is definitely picking up for sure," he observed. "I think 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." Artificial intelligence, he explained, has introduced a level of uncertainty that makes forecasting the next five or ten years of the industry especially challenging. While past technological trends—such as virtual reality—generated hype that eventually tempered, AI is already altering development pipelines, content creation, and even marketing strategies.

Jorjani highlighted a stark cultural divide in how the technology is embraced. In the West, developers grapple with ethical questions, data‑ownership concerns, and artistic integrity. In contrast, many Eastern studios appear to adopt AI pragmatically, focusing on efficiency rather than philosophical debate. "In the West, we’re asking if it is ethical and whether these companies are allowed to train on this data, and whether we should oppose it on ideological or artistic grounds.

Whereas in the East, they absolutely do not care whatsoever," he said. "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." Beyond technology, Jorjani pointed to the sheer length of AAA development cycles as another obstacle to agility.

Large‑scale titles often require five to six years of work, coordinated across multiple studios and time zones. This lengthy timeline forces publishers to lean on established franchises and recognizable brands to mitigate financial risk. "If you know that and the market is changing, you need to be very certain that the bet you’re taking works," he explained. "The only thing that really, really mitigates risk on that level is brand and recognisability.

People know what they’re getting, so you can offset that risk." He illustrated this with the example of long‑standing series like Worms, which, despite not being groundbreaking, offers a clear promise to players. In a market flooded with new releases, consumers can experience analysis paralysis, scrolling through dozens of announcements without a clear anchor. Recognizable IPs cut through the noise, providing a shortcut to purchase decisions. Jorjani cited data from Steam Replay 2025 showing that 44 % of playtime was spent on titles between one and seven years old, underscoring the enduring appeal of familiar games.

Nevertheless, Jorjani believes indie developers possess a strategic advantage in this environment. Their shorter development cycles and willingness to share early prototypes enable rapid validation.

"The secret sauce to any successful game is early validation," he 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." He recounted how indie studio Tiny Glade generated buzz by releasing a simple GIF that went viral week after week, demonstrating the power of early community engagement. By contrast, a four‑year AAA cycle that waits until the final product to launch a massive marketing push risks missing the optimal moment for audience connection.

Arrowhead itself is adopting this agile mindset for its next project, borrowing tactics from mobile developers who test concepts through ad‑based experiments. "We’re going to be putting it in the hands of players right away as soon as possible," Jorjani said.

"Our philosophy has always been that we want to make games for a certain type of connoisseur. We don’t want just any action player fan. We want a specific one." To operationalise this, Arrowhead plans to give a select group of 100 Helldivers veterans early access, then survey them about their favorite franchises and preferences. By cross‑referencing responses—such as whether a tester loves alien‑themed games and also enjoys Helldivers—the studio can gauge whether the new title resonates with its target niche.

This data‑driven approach allows the team to iterate early, rather than waiting two years for broad user testing. Jorjani concluded that the industry must abandon the old playbook of keeping projects hidden for years before a grand reveal. Instead, developers need to embrace continuous feedback loops, leverage AI responsibly, and recognize the growing influence of Asian studios. While the landscape is undeniably more unpredictable than a decade ago, those who adapt—especially indie creators with flexible pipelines—are poised to thrive amid the chaos.