Helldivers 2 CEO Critiques EA’s Saudi Acquisition, Warns Against Playing It Safe with Sequels

The CEO of Arrowhead, the studio behind Helldivers 2, has shared his thoughts on the upcoming acquisition of EA by Saudi Arabia and private equity, expressing concern that it could lead to a focus on safe sequels and mega-franchises, which he sees as a “real waste.”

In an email statement, Arrowhead Studios CEO Shams Jorjani commented on the acquisition, stating:

“The industry needs business diversity as much as it needs creative diversity — the more studios and publishers operating at different scales, taking different bets, the healthier games get. EA’s portfolio has always had that range: Battlefield, The Sims, and Mass Effect are some of my favorite blockbusters of the last 15 years, but so are Split Fiction and Unravel, along with classics like Command & Conquer Generals and SimCity 2000 (yes, 2000) that still hold up. This deal is consolidation, no question — and I wonder whether new ownership optimizes for the safe bet, more sequels, more mega-franchises, over that breadth.

“I’m hopeful this leads to more of that range, not less, but if it turns EA into a sequel-and-mega-franchise machine, that’s a real waste of one of the best catalogs in the industry.”

Jorjani took the helm at Arrowhead in 2024, the same year Helldivers 2 launched. Before this, he spent 12 years at Paradox Interactive, where he served as chief business development officer and managed a diverse portfolio of strategy games.

EA is on the verge of being taken private in a $55 billion acquisition by a consortium that includes the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners, a private equity firm linked to Jared Kushner. The acquisition is set to finalize soon, having received all necessary regulatory approvals as of last week.