Arrowhead, the developer behind Helldivers 2, shares insights into how their updates, known as "arcs," are created and balanced. The team admits they are still refining their approach to achieve better polish and player satisfaction.
In an effort to be more transparent with their community, Arrowhead revealed some behind-the-scenes details about their development workflow. They recognized that focusing heavily on releasing content sometimes affected overall quality.
Alex Bolle, Production Director, provided a closer look at the process of crafting each update in the first part of the “Diving into the Development Team” series. He compares making an arc to preparing a recipe that requires constant adjustment:
"Preparing an arc is a recipe that we’re always trying to improve, sometimes it’s too salty, sometimes it needs more salt. We’re constantly trying to improve the live service experience."
Bolle explains that each arc begins as a concept centered around a key question:
"What do we want players to experience?"
From this, the team develops a combination of features, missions, and warbonds to bring the update to life.
Helldivers 2's team openly acknowledges the iterative nature of their update process, striving to enhance the game with each patch while seeking player involvement to fine-tune the experience.
Author's summary: Arrowhead candidly shares that creating updates for Helldivers 2 is a continual process of balance and improvement, aiming to deliver a polished live service experience with player feedback in mind.