2018 Arrowhead Recap

What a crazy year we’ve had. So many things went on in 2018, it’s going to be hard to remember them all. But, let’s start from the start:

In January and February Arrowhead hit two milestones: it was the 9th year that Arrowhead has been up and running as a game development studio since being founded in 2009. This meant that it was also the 7 year anniversary of the official release of Magicka, our first game. We of course celebrated in true Arrowhead style and threw a party, which was a great success. We expect 2019’s party to be even better since it’s a nice round 10. 10 years in the industry and still going strong. Here’s to the next 10 years!

We noticed the weather starting to thaw in March and April and had our first Arrowhead BBQ of the year. It was a little chilly when the sun went down, so we did still need blankets (we are in Sweden after all!).

May. What can we say about May other than we were busy working on the new project? We know, we know, you want more details. We’re dying to give them to you but can’t spill the beans just yet. Occasionally we let snippets out if you’re paying attention.

June and July are quiet months here in Sweden. That’s when most Swedes take a month long summer vacation and a lot of shops and services shut down (we’re not kidding, it’s tough trying to get things done during summer!). The majority of the studio here took their well deserved vacations, though this summer in Stockholm it was just as hot and humid as in the tropical parts of the world.

August the company went paintballing. It was a bloodbath, and only the brave survived, hence the mass recruitment after…

September and October saw the Arrowhead take a short break to Rome for team building in a magnificent country castle setting. Let’s just say some people are still bitter that they didn’t get the honeymoon suite with their own secret turret garden. We also had fun celebrating Halloween, with guest appearances by Jason and a ghost walking around the office.

November was a month of learning. We took a CPR course and are now somewhat qualified to attempt to save your life. I wouldn’t put us to the test though, the mannequins didn’t exactly come back to life. We also learnt that Fluffy is indeed capable of growing a moustache. Until now it has been a thing of legend. Yeah, we know, it surprised us all too.

December was another vacation month for us at Arrowhead. The studio fully closed down while we relaxed and recovered after all the year’s deadlines. But before we left, a huge realization hit us. We welcomed a whopping 17 new employees to the studio, expanding from 34 people at the start of the year to 53 now. That a huge 56% growth since the start of the year. Any bigger and we’ll have to soon start thinking about moving offices again…

Happy 2019!