Aren't you the guys who made...
We make games that we ourselves would love to play
Oh my, how far we've come!
Arrowhead is incredibly lucky to have welcomed so many people into the family over the last few years. We’ve employed over 30 people in the past 3 years alone, making it a successful and unprecedented growth for our studios. And it’s no secret that for these past three years we’ve been working on our biggest and most ambitious project to date… *cough* HYPE *cough*!
But now, as of 2020, Arrowhead employs around 60 individuals. This is a huge difference compared to a decade earlier when Arrowhead was founded with just 5 people. We’ve seen a few people come and go over the years, with most going on to try out some solo projects (very best of luck to you guys, we can’t wait to play them!!). But mostly the same faces have stuck around for what seems like forever! Four of the five original founders, Malin, Anton, Emil and Johan are still at the helm, always on a mission to make kick-ass games!
It’s definitely been an exciting journey and we’ve quickly learnt that we have had to adapt if we want to succeed. We don’t just mean physically with new office space, but mentally too! One of the biggest changes has been going from a “little indie company” mindset to a real, functioning medium sized company. Our projects are not just small indie projects anymore – we have grand plans and ambitions! And we couldn’t achieve this without the awesome team behind us.
One challenge with such a big team is to continually try to keep the family feeling. We do this by encouraging afterwork activities and team building dates as much as possible. If you want to share your hobby with others and start a group, Arrowhead have a “hobby” allowence, making it possible to buy supplies and get started. There are numerous groups already running at Arrowhead – puzzles, RPGs, knitting, 3D printing…you name it! Most days you’ll find a group holed up in the Hobby room, either painting or sewing or playing. We have popcorn and film nights on the sofas. We have Magic the Gathering battles. We have food-offs. We have Pokemon battles…the list goes on.
Arrowhead also regularly offers team building day(s). We’ve been flown to a castle in Italy. We’ve enjoyed a summer boat trip. We’ve had a floating sauna on the Hammarby waterfront. We’ve had a spa trip in the archipelago. We’ve bashed each other with go-karts. Not to mention the numerous and infamous Arrowhead parties we’ve thrown. It’s just getting harder to think of what new and exciting things we can do with such a big group. If you have any suggestions please let us know! ;)
"We make the games that we ourselves would love to play."
There’s something special about an Arrowhead game. We strongly believe that games should challenge the creativity of the individuals who play them. This holds true for all our games, no matter how casual, action-packed or story driven. We feel that this is one of the key factors to creating a memorable experience. An experience that will be remembered for a long time by those who play our games.
We also believe in making games that will have a long lasting and hardcore crowd. Therefore we take great care to integrate support models that make sense and that allow for continued development. They should become a living product, so that we can support our products for as long as people want to play them.
When we started Arrowhead we had a strong vision of what kind of games, mentality and studio we wanted to create and are still passionate about the idea that games should challenge the creativity of the individuals that play them. Every Arrowhead game has a few core values, no matter what style or genre they are in.
Our Core Values
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> Believability <
A huge part of what Arrowhead does when making games is worldbuilding. We want our players to experience and reside in a universe that is real and believable – even though it might be a fantastical one.
For example, in an action game this would mean that damage and health values follow what makes sense within the game’s universe, rather than what traditionally leads to balanced gameplay.
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> Sociality <
We believe that the best things in games happen between players – a shared player experience – regardless of whether you are couch coop, online coop or through random matchmaking. The game should connect you.
Arrowhead games aim to create these connections and maximize opportunities for player stories. These stories are something that should be retold time and time again. And not just in game, offline too!
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> Playfulness <
Our games focus on fantastical immersion, rather than just ‘something you have to beat’. We strive to give players opportunities to explore and find their own way of playing.
The goals and challenges we set out for players are there primarily to spark their creativity and to make for hilarious mishaps. This extends to our own worldbuilding, as we often use humour and a playful approach to serious subjects and messaging.
Our jobs
Have a look at our current job openings below!