Open Comms

Happy Monday. As a quick reminder, the Loading Screen team will be taking a few days off this week. We will return next week.

—Derek Neville, Tim Rhyne

MAIN QUEST: Communication builds success

Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead and Helldivers 2 creator director, stated on X that games should “earn the right to monetize.” The comment comes as a response to the claims that Helldivers 2 is a pay-to-win (p2w) game with an upfront $40 price tag, in part due to its microtransactions being beyond simple cosmetics. Pilestedt does point out that the team built in the ability to acquire all premium currency through gameplay and joked about a weapon being the most p2w item while simultaneously not being that good.

Despite this and continued server issues, Helldivers 2 is now Playstation’s largest Steam launch after reaching more than 155k concurrent players over the weekend. Arrowhead updated today explaining in more detail their progress in fixing the connectivity issues and stating their team would first need to prioritize sleep before they could continue the work on more complete resolutions.

Step back: While Pilestedt did not explicitly elaborate on what they meant by “right to monetize,” the actions taken follow closely with how PocketPair addressed issues with Palworld during its launch week. The playbook of success is to maintain communication with the community while delivering incremental fixes throughout ongoing issues.

HUD

• There will be a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast on Thursday featuring execs Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty. This comes following rumors that some of Xbox’s first-party releases will be heading to PlayStation, and the trio is expected to give an update on the future of Xbox’s business. Spencer reportedly told employees Microsoft would continue to make consoles.

• The latest patch notes for Escape From Tarkov point towards the game adding microtransactions for the first time. Players will have the ability to purchase additional space in their stash, the first microtransaction in the game’s nearly 7-year history.

• Microsoft is getting ready to release its version of AI upscaling for PC games, similar to Nvidia’s DLSS. Users found the feature in a recent test version of Windows 11. Microsoft is also working on an improved color management feature.

MAJOR W

• 🔧 A notable leaker reports that Switch 2 will be backward compatible with current digital and physical Switch games.

• 👏 PocketPair says they are desperately needing to hire. A welcomed sight amidst the layoff culture we have been seeing across the industry.

F IN THE CHAT

• 💩 Former lead designer Sébastien Benard, who spent 19 years with Motion Twin, says the decision to end development on Dead Cells was an “a**hole move.”

• 🤣 Ubisoft CEO claims Skull and Bones is a AAAA game, while beta players claim the game is not worth the $70 price of admission.

CAREER CORNER

• Director of Community Management — Jagex (Cambridge, UK)

• Senior Concept Artist, Games — Netflix (Remote, US)

• Lead Game Designer — Hothead Games (Remote, CA)

HIVE MIND

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