Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt spoke with the community at-large on his X account, asking fans what they were hoping for next from the developer of Helldivers 2.
In response to a user urging the company to avoid “DEI” (an acronym for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Pilestedt responded with a post which appears to imply that such DEI initiatives would “detract“ from any hypothetical game they’re working on.
DEI initiatives have come under increased scrutiny in the wake of commercial flops like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Concord. In addition, fans are concerned about the impact narrative consultants like Sweet Baby Inc. may have in chilling the free expression of developers and publishers.
In the year since the controversy over narrative consultants began, it seems developers are being given more breathing room to share nuanced opinions about their role and the role of DEI in game development. Last year, Abubakar Salim, the creative director behind Tales of Kenzera: Zau shared his thoughts saying that SBI’s involvement was a valid criticism, but emphasized the importance he placed on telling an authentic story.
Pilestedt went on to make a tongue-in-cheek comment about how Super Earth is technically “inclusive” in its united xenophobia.
I don’t like labels. But mankind is united in its extreme xenophobia on Super Earth. #Inclusion so, maybe that’s DEI? I really don’t care. Make good games, don’t make a contemporary political statement.
Helldivers II is available now for Windows PC (via Steam) and PlayStation 5.
