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Helldivers 2 has been a massive success since it launched in early 2024, and it’s only gotten bigger and better with recent events such as the “Battle of Super Earth” against the Illuminate. Although everyone knew the game has been triumphant financially for Arrowhead as a studio, the specifics have now been shared. An insane profit for Arrowhead has been revealed with the Helldivers 2 CCO also praising Tencent as investors.
Helldivers 2 CCO calls China the “holy grail” of the games industry
On June 5th, Swedish outlet, breakit, relayed a report by fellow Swedish publication, DiGITAL. In relaying the message, breakit revealed that, in 2024, “Arrowhead had sales of SEK 959 million,” resulting in an “Operating profit landed at SEK 729 million”.
Arrowhead CCO, Pilestedt, told DI, “It’s great fun and I feel incredible pride in what the team has managed to achieve. Above all, it is proof that what we do resonates with the player base”.
While Sony’s backing of the game was well known, some players may be surprised to learn of investment from Tencent. According to DI and breakit, “In July last year, Tencent bought 15.75 percent of the shares in a deal where the entire Arrowhead was valued at SEK 5.1 billion,” with “remaining shares in the company owned by the founders Johan Pilestedt, Malin Hedström, Emil Englund, Anton Stenmark and Peter Lindgren”.
Commenting on the investment from Tencent, Pilestedt reportedly said it “opens up opportunities for China as a market. Getting access to the Chinese player base is the holy grail in the gaming industry”. The DI report isn’t readable without a subscription, but the opening bullet points also quote Pilestedt as saying Tencent “can give us enormous financial leverage”.
Due to both reports stemming from Swedish outlets, it’s possible there might be some inaccuracies through Google Translate.
While the investment from Tencent probably wasn’t known by a lot of players, it’s hardly surprising considering the company’s long list of investments. Per PCGamer, the Chinese conglomerate has investments in dozens of studios, including ones not everyone would expect such as 30% of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer, Larian Studios.
For more Helldivers 2, check out our guide to the best warbonds ranked, along with the best stratagems and best throwables. We have also a guide to the best weapons, and, if you’re coming back to HD2 for the first time in a long while, we have a bunch of tips and tricks to help you get reaccustomed to the battlefield.
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