Culture & Values
The Heart of Arrowhead
Our Studio Values
When we first started Arrowhead we had a strong vision of what kind of games, mentality and studio we wanted to create.
While the overall vision of the company hasn't changed greatly, we do believe that much of our success is down to each of the talented people who contribute to the studio.
Arrowhead is a great believer in fostering friendliness and creativity, which is why you will find multiple hobby groups at the studio, funded by us.
We also place team building highly on our agenda, with yearly allowances for fun events.
Our Game Values
There’s something special about an Arrowhead game.
Don't believe us? Just ask our wonderful community of Arrowhead fans. The praise we have received in all our years of dev-ing has blown us away, especially when it comes to our motto:
"A game for everyone is a game for no one."
You may have seen us use this motto before. For us, it's important. We make games that we ourselves would like to play. That's it. That's our big secret to success.
This is why we're dedicated to creating amazing co-op experiences - something we've always done from the very beginning with Magicka.
Games should challenge the creativity of the individuals who play them. 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 want our games to help forge friendships between players all over the world. Which is why everyone at Arrowhead, from management to developers, have a player-centric mindset.
By sharing these values, together we can create intensely thrilling and hilarious game experiences for our players.
The 3 Core Values
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.
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!
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.