Once upon a time, when inconsistent balance updates, not flying dragons, were the biggest threat to democracy, Arrowhead Game Studios deployed a 60-day action plan full of patches to get Helldivers 2 in tip-top shape. But with similarly sweeping complaints aimed at the game's new Into the Unjust update, Arrowhead's CEO Shams Jorjanni doesn't think another 60-day barrage of quick fixes would be enough.
The Into the Unjust update has a ton of cool ideas, including creepy underground tunnels that've been housing those pesky bugs, venom-spewing dragon aliens that stalk the skies, and a massive, practically unstoppable sand worm. It's also made performance problems more prominent, though, even prompting Jorjani to admit the game's "technical debt is crippling" and the studio is "trying to get our s**t in order."
Over on Discord, responding to some fans calling for another 60-day action plan, Jorjani said two months "wouldn't be enough" time because "the fixes that are required are deep engine stuff that take longer to fix."
The Helldivers CEO reiterates that the team wants performance and stability issues to be ironed out with every update, gradually, but some behind-the-scenes changes take a while to manifest in-game.
"I'm telling you we're not getting a passing grade on performance and stability," he continues. "I hope that's clear. A big project like this is complex - it's not either performance or content- we have to be able to do both which has been the challenge. Every time we realize something isn't working we make changes internally. We change who's in charge, how decisions are made, processes, planning. And then we see if it bears fruit. That takes time. Some of the things we released now were developed many months ago."
So, there you have it - 60 days isn't enough time to make up for all that technical debt. Arrowhead could market its performance-aimed efforts as a 180-day patch or something, but as Jorjani says, that's "effectively 'getting our day to day in order.'"
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