Helldivers 2 director: "Balance is a myth, and excessive attention to it makes the game uninteresting"
Johan Pylestedt, director of Helldivers 2 at Arrowhead, expressed the opinion that excessive attention to balance in games can negatively affect their engagement. He believes that developers should devote no more than 5% of their time to balance, focusing instead on creating an interesting gaming experience.
Here's What We Know
During the discussion at GDC 2025, Pylestedt said: "Balance is a myth. Fun first, balance later." He emphasised that excessive attention to balance can lead to the loss of chaos and unpredictability that make a game fun. According to him, if developers try to balance all the chaos, they create an uninteresting game.
Game designers today are obsessed with balance. Balance is 5% of the work you have to do
This statement came after the Helldivers 2 player community expressed dissatisfaction with frequent balance updates, which they felt reduced the enjoyment of the game. Pylestedt admitted that the development team may have gone too far in trying to balance the game and promised to reconsider the approach to this issue.
And it was probably this kind of player dissatisfaction that made it clear to Johan the right approach to creating balance in games.
Source: GamesRadar
