Shams Jorjani, the chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios—the studio behind Helldivers 2—recently told GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom that the video‑game sector is undergoing a profound transition. He explained that the formulas and expectations that guided developers and publishers throughout the 2010s have largely lost their relevance 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 went on to identify several key drivers behind this shift. First, the continued rise of development houses in the Asia‑Pacific region is reshaping the global landscape.
This year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, for instance, highlighted the impressive capabilities of studios from China and South Korea, underscoring how Asian creators are now delivering high‑quality, console‑grade experiences on a regular basis. "There’s always been a general rise of Asian games and companies into the West," Jorjani observed.
"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 reached a tipping point in terms of production values and design sophistication. While the Chinese market remains heavily mobile‑centric—a factor that influences game aesthetics and pacing—Jorjani believes the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is accelerating the overall development speed across the region.
"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." Artificial intelligence, Jorjani argued, is perhaps the most disruptive force the industry has seen in recent memory. Unlike previous hype cycles—such as virtual reality, which generated excitement but failed to deliver sustained commercial impact—AI is already altering workflows, content creation, and even business models.
However, its adoption is uneven across regions. In the West, developers grapple with ethical questions, data‑ownership concerns, and artistic integrity when integrating AI tools. Debates revolve around whether it is permissible for companies to train models on existing game assets and whether the resulting content respects creators’ rights. By contrast, many Eastern studios appear less encumbered by such considerations, treating AI as a straightforward productivity enhancer.
"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," Jorjani explained. "There are parallels to those of us who have friends in the IT industry; everyone’s shifted over to using AI completely and without any major moral kind of, not even qualms, but it’s just because, at the end of the day, if you’re making functional code, you’re not making entertainment where you’re trying to connect with other humans." He noted that this cultural divide creates an existential dilemma for Western creators, who must reconcile their artistic ambitions with the efficiency of algorithmic 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 concluded. Beyond technology, Jorjani highlighted the structural challenge posed by the lengthy development cycles of AAA titles. Large‑scale projects often span five to six years and involve multiple studios across different time zones. This reality forces publishers to lean heavily on established franchises and recognizable IPs, reducing the appetite for risky, brand‑new concepts—especially in Western markets.
"There are multiple forces happening at the same time," he said. "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.
People know what they’re getting, so you can offset that risk." Jorjani illustrated this point with the phenomenon of "analysis paralysis" among consumers. With an ever‑growing flood of releases, players often gravitate toward familiar names because they provide a guaranteed experience. He cited classic series such as Worms as an example: even if the latest installment isn’t groundbreaking, its legacy assures a certain level of enjoyment.
He also referenced Steam data indicating that a substantial portion of playtime is devoted to games older than 18 months, suggesting that gamers are comfortable returning to proven titles rather than constantly chasing fresh IPs. "People scream for new games and IPs, but they don’t actually buy them. We tend to buy remakes," Jorjani observed. "That’s where we were at least very fortunate with Helldivers, in the sense that we were one of the lucky few who were able to get a breakthrough and establish ourselves.
And that came through a certain bit of luck and the secret sauce that goes into making the game. It makes it recognisable, but also its own thing." He pointed to companies like Riot Games and Supercell, which often juggle several projects simultaneously. When one title becomes a runaway hit, the other efforts can be eclipsed, creating a market environment where only the biggest successes receive attention.
This dynamic, Jorjani argued, offers indie developers a strategic edge. "The secret sauce to any successful game is early validation," he said.
"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. We see this in indie development because their cycles look very different and they share openly.
They put up a GIF of their game, and if people respond to that, they know they’re on the right track." He recounted the rapid rise of the indie title Tiny Glade, which gained momentum after early visual teasers went viral week after week. By contrast, a four‑year AAA development schedule that waits until the final product to launch a massive marketing push lacks the flexibility to adjust based on early audience reaction. Arrowhead, for its part, is planning to adopt this iterative, feedback‑driven approach for its next project. Jorjani explained that the studio intends to expose early builds to a carefully selected group of players, borrowing a tactic common in mobile gaming where concepts are tested through ad performance before full production.
"We’re going to be putting it in the hands of players right away as soon as possible," he 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.
So we’ll probably put the game in the hands of 100 Helldivers players, and then we’ll ask them what their favourite IPs or games are. There’s a very specific subset of those that we’re particularly interested in. If they’re interested in aliens and they like Helldivers and they like the game they’re playing with us, then we know that they should score the game higher than the control group that all like Helldivers, but aliens isn’t their favourite. That will allow us to know that we’re able to hit that specific group, and we should do this now, early into development rather than waiting two years after getting broad user tests." Jorjani wrapped up by emphasizing that this methodology requires abandoning the old playbook of keeping projects under wraps for years before a grand reveal.
"It requires you to let go of that old playbook of playing your cards close to the chest for years, and then dazzle and razzle," he said. In summary, the Arrowhead CEO sees the industry at a crossroads where shifting geographic power, AI‑driven production, and the weight of legacy franchises are reshaping how games are conceived, built, and marketed. While these forces introduce uncertainty, they also open doors for smaller, agile studios that can validate ideas quickly and connect directly with niche audiences.
By embracing early feedback loops and leveraging the lessons of mobile and indie development, Arrowhead aims to stay ahead of the curve and continue delivering experiences that resonate with dedicated fans, even as the broader market evolves.