Competition has grown in the industry and long-term live-service black hole games have captured parts of the potential purchase-base so wholly that they don’t really spend elsewhere.
Game companies have plenty of methods for bringing costs down, but making games faster gives you more attempts at a very competitive market. (Some) Indie games are sort of proving this right. If you make a relatively quality game in a short time period and release it for a relatively good price, you can get your foot in the door of the market. If you spend 5+ years making the biggest game you’ve ever made and it sucks, your studio dies.
The big question is if AAA shifts to making games faster, are they going to be of a high enough quality to justify the outrageous price publishers will still want to set for them? (easy: no)
Basically I see it as the industry splitting even further. The AAA games that make money will continue to do so only so long as their last game lets them float 5+ year dev cycles. Otherwise, companies and publishers are going to reduce risk and investment and push developers to make their game faster, get to market faster. Arguably that would be healthy for the industry, but I know it won’t be.
Competition has grown in the industry and long-term live-service black hole games have captured parts of the potential purchase-base so wholly that they don’t really spend elsewhere.
Game companies have plenty of methods for bringing costs down, but making games faster gives you more attempts at a very competitive market. (Some) Indie games are sort of proving this right. If you make a relatively quality game in a short time period and release it for a relatively good price, you can get your foot in the door of the market. If you spend 5+ years making the biggest game you’ve ever made and it sucks, your studio dies.
The big question is if AAA shifts to making games faster, are they going to be of a high enough quality to justify the outrageous price publishers will still want to set for them? (easy: no)
Basically I see it as the industry splitting even further. The AAA games that make money will continue to do so only so long as their last game lets them float 5+ year dev cycles. Otherwise, companies and publishers are going to reduce risk and investment and push developers to make their game faster, get to market faster. Arguably that would be healthy for the industry, but I know it won’t be.