United Kingdom, March 20 -- 'Helldivers 2' creative director Johan Pilestedt has warned there will be more "unnecessarily brutal" layoffs in the gaming industry unless studios move away from making battle royales.

Over the past couple of years, the industry has suffered thousands of layoffs and studio closures due to financial difficulties, and now Arrowhead boss Pilestedt - who oversees the popular multiplayer-shooter 'Helldivers 2' - has insisted developers and publishers are doomed to a "vicious circle of death and rebirth" unless they shift focus to genres other than battle royale titles such as 'Fortnite'.

Speaking at the Game Developers Conference 2025, Pilestedt said: "The games industry is caught in a vicious circle of death and...