Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Are Hello Games way of game developing as brilliant as it seems to be? No mans sky is probably the biggest comeback in gaming history and it seems like they have learned their lessons. I was never that interested but the new update that let's you build your own ship that you can walk around in was to much to ignore.
Their new concept seems to be to develop their new game on the same engine that they are upgrading, but they are porting in parts of new developments back to NMS.
1. It brings in a lot of new revenue as people buy NMS. 2. It allows them to focus on really upgrading their engine to do the cool things they want for a longer time. 3. Allows them to test their tech before release and people don't mind the bugs since it's free updates. 4. Generates interest in their new game without promising anything or even talking about it.
People are hyped about building starships but at the same time they discuss why they need that tech in Light No Fire.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
On September 07 2025 18:02 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote: Are Hello Games way of game developing as brilliant as it seems to be? No mans sky is probably the biggest comeback in gaming history and it seems like they have learned their lessons. I was never that interested but the new update that let's you build your own ship that you can walk around in was to much to ignore.
Their new concept seems to be to develop their new game on the same engine that they are upgrading, but they are porting in parts of new developments back to NMS.
1. It brings in a lot of new revenue as people buy NMS. 2. It allows them to focus on really upgrading their engine to do the cool things they want for a longer time. 3. Allows them to test their tech before release and people don't mind the bugs since it's free updates. 4. Generates interest in their new game without promising anything or even talking about it.
People are hyped about building starships but at the same time they discuss why they need that tech in Light No Fire.
This is how games used to be developed isn't it? You made an engine for game 1, used it for game 3-4 and then had to scrap it since it is too old and restart. Baldur's Gate, Icewind dale etc is a good example of this. I assume the Warcraft 1 to Starcraft Broodwar is another series.
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
On September 07 2025 18:02 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote: Are Hello Games way of game developing as brilliant as it seems to be? No mans sky is probably the biggest comeback in gaming history and it seems like they have learned their lessons. I was never that interested but the new update that let's you build your own ship that you can walk around in was to much to ignore.
Their new concept seems to be to develop their new game on the same engine that they are upgrading, but they are porting in parts of new developments back to NMS.
1. It brings in a lot of new revenue as people buy NMS. 2. It allows them to focus on really upgrading their engine to do the cool things they want for a longer time. 3. Allows them to test their tech before release and people don't mind the bugs since it's free updates. 4. Generates interest in their new game without promising anything or even talking about it.
People are hyped about building starships but at the same time they discuss why they need that tech in Light No Fire.
This is how games used to be developed isn't it? You made an engine for game 1, used it for game 3-4 and then had to scrap it since it is too old and restart. Baldur's Gate, Icewind dale etc is a good example of this. I assume the Warcraft 1 to Starcraft Broodwar is another series.
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
Probably true. But I see it as an absolute bonus if your game has an idea that is so wild it's better to build your own engine or tools than it is to modify a standard one.
Features and graphics only applies to gamers with hardware to run it so having the "best" graphics only applies to a small percentage of your customer base. And all the while you are competing against a saturated market of FPS and 3rd person shooters running on the same engine trying to find their own niche.
Also in the past when a game was done it was done until the expansion came out. Black Isles never backported things to BG1 (but imagine if they had, like stacking arrows, quivers, scroll cases and even a bag of holding) while working on BG2.
Maybe it's because I am an old gamer but I find the solution really elegant. Also it's funny that LNF is aimed at solving the nr1 problem with NMS which is the shallow mono biome planets.
I imagine if they keep the concept of starting NMS2 as they release LNF that game could be a truly insane experience.
The great news in all of this is that we're getting back to the days of very small teams making complete games.
On September 07 2025 18:06 Gorsameth wrote: I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
i agree. to add to what you are saying: who has the time to play all this stuff?
I'm gearing up for an Atari 7800+ binge. I am super fucking pumped for the new "Pac Man Double Feature" game made by AtariAge living legend Bob Decrescenzo. There is a 2 player competitive version of the game where 1 player controls the Red Ghost and the other player controls Pac-man.
look! its a CEO who actually, you know, ummm, plays video games.
It is nice to see people like Decrescenzo, Javier Martinez, Ari Gibson, William Pellen and Jack Vine doing great.
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
Hollow Knight and its sequel were made by 2 full timers and 2 part timers. The sequel hit 585,000 concurrents on Steam. The game is on Microsoft Game Pass.
On September 08 2025 21:15 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Hollow Knight and its sequel were made by 2 full timers and 2 part timers. The sequel hit 585,000 concurrents on Steam. The game is on Microsoft Game Pass.
Yeah. It is not really new information that small teams of competent indie devs can make amazing indie games, and if they are lucky in the age of social media, those games are a runaway success. There are dozens of examples of that.
And honestly, to me that is the future of gaming. Not massive games made by hundreds of people, but smaller games with a vision. They are definitively the games i play the most.
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
Would cyberpunk be considered AA or AAA?
Cyberpunk 2077 is rumored to be the second most expensive game in the history of games... (after Star Citizen) Cyperpunk is AAAA+
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
Would cyberpunk be considered AA or AAA?
Cyberpunk 2077 is rumored to be the second most expensive game in the history of games... (after Star Citizen) Cyperpunk is AAAA+
Agreed. I think there are more expensive live service games though since they keep a development team much longer after release.
Some sports game franchises could be similar in cost due to licensing costs. The games themselves aren't that expensive.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
AA's and indies are definitely going to be stronger in the future. AAs can pull off a pretty high quality for a lot of experiences these days and indies are obviously just really low cost and a ton come out so a crop of excellent ones will generally always be being pumped out.
AAA dev and marketing costs are just too high unless you're a GTA or some other giga-high profile game thats guaranteed to sell gangbusters.
Problem is that it is expensive compared to using somebody else's engine, but allows you unique games. Even huge studios decide the cost of maintaining their own engine is too expensive as in CDProject deciding to move from their own engine after Cyberpunk.
The cost if you want to compete on a lot features and the best optimized high end graphics is insane though. So if that is what you are after, doing your own engine doesn't make sense.
Would cyberpunk be considered AA or AAA?
Cyberpunk 2077 is rumored to be the second most expensive game in the history of games... (after Star Citizen) Cyperpunk is AAAA+
Agreed. I think there are more expensive live service games though since they keep a development team much longer after release.
Some sports game franchises could be similar in cost due to licensing costs. The games themselves aren't that expensive.
Not even sure. The numbers for CP 2077 on the interweb differ, but most commonly you find something like. 400 million $ at release 100 million $ after release for bugs, fixing the game and stuff. Game was kinda broken at release + adding some free content. 70 million $ for DLC Phantom.
Among the 400 and 100 million is quite expensive marketing though. About 15-20%. Pre release marketing was veeeery big and after release they had to fix the game and market fresh.
On September 08 2025 21:15 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Hollow Knight and its sequel were made by 2 full timers and 2 part timers. The sequel hit 585,000 concurrents on Steam. The game is on Microsoft Game Pass.
Yeah. It is not really new information that small teams of competent indie devs can make amazing indie games, and if they are lucky in the age of social media, those games are a runaway success. There are dozens of examples of that.
And honestly, to me that is the future of gaming. Not massive games made by hundreds of people, but smaller games with a vision. They are definitively the games i play the most.
huh?
Silksong stands virtually unmatched in indie launch speed and scale. Its first-three-day performance eclipses other standout indie hits by a wide margin — it's arguably the fastest-selling indie title of all time in terms of sheer velocity.
Its 1969 and we are listening to Led Zeppelin right now.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
AA's and indies are definitely going to be stronger in the future. AAs can pull off a pretty high quality for a lot of experiences these days and indies are obviously just really low cost and a ton come out so a crop of excellent ones will generally always be being pumped out.
AAA dev and marketing costs are just too high unless you're a GTA or some other giga-high profile game thats guaranteed to sell gangbusters.
AAs are also feeling the squeeze. Bill Roper was trying to secure funding for his AA game studio for years before he finally had to sell his home and move out of California a few months ago. I'm not sure what can bring them back to prominence, and I agree with Bill that AA is the best compromise between vision and budget, but investors seem hesitant.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
AA's and indies are definitely going to be stronger in the future. AAs can pull off a pretty high quality for a lot of experiences these days and indies are obviously just really low cost and a ton come out so a crop of excellent ones will generally always be being pumped out.
AAA dev and marketing costs are just too high unless you're a GTA or some other giga-high profile game thats guaranteed to sell gangbusters.
AAs are also feeling the squeeze. Bill Roper was trying to secure funding for his AA game studio for years before he finally had to sell his home and move out of California a few months ago. I'm not sure what can bring them back to prominence, and I agree with Bill that AA is the best compromise between vision and budget, but investors seem hesitant.
Game industry is just in a historical low atm, my company was very lucky in that we got our money just about immediately before money became really hard to get in games. I think the overall trend is going to prefer AA studios more than it has in the recent past, assuming the general economic state of things gets to a state of relative normalcy.
I think people give a lot less of a shit about peak realism graphics and are generally willing to compromise on a lot for a strong core experience, which AA is adequately positioned to deliver at a much lower price point than AAA.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
AA's and indies are definitely going to be stronger in the future. AAs can pull off a pretty high quality for a lot of experiences these days and indies are obviously just really low cost and a ton come out so a crop of excellent ones will generally always be being pumped out.
AAA dev and marketing costs are just too high unless you're a GTA or some other giga-high profile game thats guaranteed to sell gangbusters.
AAs are also feeling the squeeze. Bill Roper was trying to secure funding for his AA game studio for years before he finally had to sell his home and move out of California a few months ago. I'm not sure what can bring them back to prominence, and I agree with Bill that AA is the best compromise between vision and budget, but investors seem hesitant.
Game industry is just in a historical low atm, my company was very lucky in that we got our money just about immediately before money became really hard to get in games. I think the overall trend is going to prefer AA studios more than it has in the recent past, assuming the general economic state of things gets to a state of relative normalcy.
I think people give a lot less of a shit about peak realism graphics and are generally willing to compromise on a lot for a strong core experience, which AA is adequately positioned to deliver at a much lower price point than AAA.
Really good graphics requires me to buy a new 2k (or is it 3-4k now?) gaming PC, a new screen and probably a new sound system to go with it. It's doable for me so I'm probably part of the target demographic for that. A teen living at home? Not so much...
But I have like an hour a night to spend on gaming at best and I grew up with quake and unreal tournament. IDGAF about graphics and spend most of my time on indie games. I'd rather spend the money on take out or cleaning to give me more time to actually play games...
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia bought EA for 50 billion or something? Hasn't EA sucked as for the last 10 years or so?
You can, depending on your location and resolution you intend to play at, get a very good PC that will run everything comfortably under 2k €.
Of course, that depends if you are investing in everything or just the box, if it's just the box for 1,5 K you will get something that will run QuadHD (2k resolution) on high or medium (for very demanding Unreal 5 stuff) with no issues at all, basically a PC that is at or slightly above Playstation 5 pro performance.
If you want to run most games coming out in 2025 at 1080p on a 24 " monitor at low and medium you can get all of that for 1300 €.
All of this is way more money then it was required 10 years ago, EU 10 year inflation on average is around 35 % , due to GPU price explosion I think this is like 50 % for Gaming PC's, but if you are not going for high end stuff it's still relatively affordable, especially since you are good for 6-7 years at least once you pay for it once.
Given how much more expensive cars and maintenance got in the same period, I don't think that this kind of thing should go into "it's so expensive now it's unaffordable" given that no one really bats an eye when dropping 20 k € on a car and another 2 k a year on maintenance, insurance etc.
Seems like many ex-ATVI guys set off to run their own shops are getting crushed. ex Creative Director Rob Pardo ran Blizzard's games during the apex of the company and he has not made a game in 11 years. David Kim, Tim Morten, Chris Sigaty, Dustin Browder, etc etc.
Secret Door, Moonshot Games, Bonfire Studios, Runic Games, FrostGate are all in big trouble. The WoW guys who made that Marvel mobile card game did pretty good though. They are the exception to the rule.
Bobby Kotick was so good at marketing, promotion, and managing genius-level talent that he made it look easy.
I want a job @ Bonfire Studios as "Culture Manager" or "Community Liaison" or whatever made up BS title they can give me. Do nothing for 10 years...get paid.
Sad, but there is so many games coming out that it makes it hard for games to stand out these days.Plus still plenty of games released in past 15 years that hold up very well and can be picked up very cheaply.
Got a feeling that AI developed games & AI assets are going to be a much bigger thing in 5 years than they are now which is bad news for both workers and gamers.Over 18k games released on steam last year which is already 2x what was released in 2020, imagine those numbers when AI puts together half or more of a game.
Why is it a bad thing for gamers?
A lesson of the last 5-10 years of game development is that design matters. Breakout successes in things like Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Clair Obscur Exp33, Slay the Spire etc, many of which were made on virtually no budget, show that it's the design that makes games good, not the resources pumped into it. Games being made easier to make via AI tooling does mean there will be MORE games (and therefore more shit games) but as gamers we don't need to play everything, we can just play the ones that are interesting to us.
If AI tooling was already prevalent everywhere, and you were to tell me 30% of Clair Obscur was AI generated textures or whatever, I would be impressed because it didn't detract from the experience.
Ethical concerns of AI aside, I don't see how AI being used in game dev will be worse for gamers. There's already heaps and heaps of shovelware I don't play, if the next COD game is 50% AI generated that will impact me, or its userbase, very little.
Exactly, more games made to a higher quality on a lower budget is good. Means we get more releases and through that a decent chance of surprise hits. We will still have a few high budget games a year but fewer than now. Since I couldn't play all the high budget games in a year, that seems fine to me.
I think the AA type of studios will disappear though. Too much competition eating into them from below, not enough marketing power to survive.
Some of the best games of this year are AA? Expedition 33, Alters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
I'd say AA's are thriving. Sure it can be a tough market with the competition but there are some real gems shining through.
AA's and indies are definitely going to be stronger in the future. AAs can pull off a pretty high quality for a lot of experiences these days and indies are obviously just really low cost and a ton come out so a crop of excellent ones will generally always be being pumped out.
AAA dev and marketing costs are just too high unless you're a GTA or some other giga-high profile game thats guaranteed to sell gangbusters.
AAs are also feeling the squeeze. Bill Roper was trying to secure funding for his AA game studio for years before he finally had to sell his home and move out of California a few months ago. I'm not sure what can bring them back to prominence, and I agree with Bill that AA is the best compromise between vision and budget, but investors seem hesitant.
Game industry is just in a historical low atm, my company was very lucky in that we got our money just about immediately before money became really hard to get in games. I think the overall trend is going to prefer AA studios more than it has in the recent past, assuming the general economic state of things gets to a state of relative normalcy.
I think people give a lot less of a shit about peak realism graphics and are generally willing to compromise on a lot for a strong core experience, which AA is adequately positioned to deliver at a much lower price point than AAA.
Really good graphics requires me to buy a new 2k (or is it 3-4k now?) gaming PC, a new screen and probably a new sound system to go with it. It's doable for me so I'm probably part of the target demographic for that. A teen living at home? Not so much...
But I have like an hour a night to spend on gaming at best and I grew up with quake and unreal tournament. IDGAF about graphics and spend most of my time on indie games. I'd rather spend the money on take out or cleaning to give me more time to actually play games...
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia bought EA for 50 billion or something? Hasn't EA sucked as for the last 10 years or so?
Yeah, Blizzard was known for making its games at the minimum possible specs to be played by as many people as is humanly possible and its part of their success. A ton of people just dont have good PCs at all, the more people that can play your game the bigger your potential playerbase, so generally it makes some good sense not to go hard on Giga Graphics unless its something like Cyberpunk where its part of your games actual appeal.
AA games are in a good position when it comes to making polished game experiences that arent ultra-expansive live service demons and aren't hundreds of millions of dollars to produce and consequently probably run on a ton of people's machines. I'm positive on the future of AA games whenever the world stops shitting itself.
EA was probably bought for its sports games if I imagine. FIFA is huge, Saudis are huge on FIFA, I wouldnt be surprised if they just wanted free FIFA gacha bullshit tbh lol.
EPT
