Johan Pilestedt warns that Helldivers 2 took 4 more years than planned because Arrowhead skipped pre-production and dove right in: 'Always do your homework before you start spending millions and millions and millions of dollars in making a game'

It's Game Developers Conference week, and you know what that means: Developers giving humbling talks about the difficult job of making games and offering advice to avoid the pitfalls that beset even the top-selling greats. One such talk this year was Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt's panel "Helldivers 2: Capturing Lightning in a Bottle" reflecting on the co-op shooter's wildly successful launch last year.

Helldivers 2 was a breakout hit, but as Pilestedt recalled, it was also a long and difficult production delayed by poor planning.