Pretty much a problem in all industries these days. - At no point in time has the bottom dollar taken more precedence over the actual product or the user base. "That was good...now, let's make it worse so we can profit more." Is the current business model across all sectors.
Honestly I no longer think these people are motivated by pure profit, even. They're just doing whatever seems most 'smart business guy'-like, it's a cargo cult founded on 'idk doing massive layoffs and cuts is always good'. If these people liked money they'd have made way more money by now.
The only potential prayer is that all of these talented people are still out there. Hopefully the investors will see the opportunities and give them a path to make some new great games
You want good games by small indie developers, check out X Rebirth, by the small German game developer Egosoft, and Vendetta Online, who made their own space simulator game. Also check out the cat roleplay game Stray.
The studio I worked at years ago was recently shut down because *checks notes* the parent company management screwed things up and decided to shutter that studio and move the longstanding games to a developer they owned in their home country.
Line must go up so we will lay off 90% of our workers while the remaining few will keep getting harassed while they're working on some absolutely bullshit casino mechanic for our stupid live service game that no one will play in 3mo after release. What a time to be alive.
That’s not really why. It’s too expensive to make games in America. Developers in America have access to job opportunities in Silicon Valley which pay more and demand less.
So the only choice for video game companies is to increase their compensation packages and decrease the hours worked
He likes getting paid but hates making the company money and prefers doing nonsensical layoffs and dumpstering finished movies instead of making a profit.
And spite for creativity that these executives do not have. make no mistake they get joy from doing this, because not only does that mean their wealth increases, but they get ever so closer to replacing creatives that look down on them (rightfully) with subservient AI
IMO it's the push for profitability earlier. No longer shall we see 10+ years of no roi. Like Spotify. This also means more tame ideas, so indie games can hopefully stabilise interest in gaming
A HK-based friend in the industry argued to me that this is an almost inevitable consequence of the cost-of-living in the US spiraling out of control. The more things economically get worse, the more we're going to see mismanagement worsen also.
Which is ironic, because the spiraling cost of living and general degradation of the economy is, itself, the consequence of exactly that type of mismanagement in (most) other sectors of the US economy. Thanks, Chicago school of economics and Jack Welch
Because, like, layoffs are not inherently a net-evil - they're a very normal if unfortunate part of business. But the sheer scale we're seeing them at speaks to much worser systemic issues, and a lot of the layoffs come dangerously close to being full-on labour violations.
They're not "unfortunate." They're a result of pure greed. Corporations want to buff their profit numbers for their share holders, so they ruin people's lives. It has nothing to do with necceisity or survival, just pure excess and callousness.
Frequently a result of the rampant mismanagement and lack of accountability to workers have caused them to become prevalent, they're considered "normal" at *some* companies.
I mean, that's the result of sky-high budgets (a consequence of things like the US' insane cost-of-living) and general mismanagement as investors try to cling to whatever they think will be a stable form of inncome. It's kinda self-fulfilling, in a sense.
It's not all corporate mismanagement. Games continue to get more expensive to make, yet every time a new one is released people bitch about the price. Gamers are a spoiled bunch.
No people just can't afford the prices they're being asked to pay, especially in countries that have a dollar worth less than the US dollar and get that $70USD becoming $120AUD like fuck off with that spoiled shit.
Games are more expensive to make, yes, but increasing prices won't help cover costs if it also means customers going elsewhere and buying from your competitors, of which there is no shortage in the gaming market thanks to indie devs.
They want to treat this market like it's the same as basically every other market conquered by big buisness when it's not. It's full of competition with stories of incredible success and tragic failures with big execs ignoring this fact, acting like they have a monopoly on the market.
Don't be dense. Games are more expensive to make because execs would rather pursue meaningless excess in terms of graphics and pointless clutter. Take one look at the indie scene where proper art is getting made for pennies against AAA billions.
Also the indie scene is bleeding out left and right you just don’t hear about it as much. You only hear about the one guy who hits it big once even though it’s absolutely atypical.
Do we really need ray-tracing? Do we really need open worlds with nothing in them? Do we really need Hollywood voice-actors phoning in lame performances? Do we really NEED horse-testicle physics?!
We are losing iconic studios and IPs because a bunch of out of touch greedy suits decided to play casino with the livelyhoods of countless talented people...
It will come back, same with Hollywood.
I've seen it happen when I look at the history of certain industries. There is consolidation, then an attempt at a "formulaic approach" that kills innovation. Eventually it stagnates, and outsiders appear to fill the new gaps.
Do I think it's awful that people are losing their jobs due to such poor decision making from the higher ups? Of course, and I wish the best for everyone below them, and hope for the worst for the people that put them in this position.
Am I also hoping this leads to a videogame Renaissance, where indie developers and smaller studios are all that is left in the videogame space, leading to a far more diverse gaming space that's scope is shrunk significantly in comparison to the current AAA market?
Kinda.
Though, that's an optimistic view, and it does not change the fact that it's fucked up how things are handled currently. Change needs to happen in one way or another.
My undergrad major was Game Design and Development. Right out of college I didn't go into the games industry because I saw how terribly exploited workers were. Imagine how many incredible games will never be made because of stories like mine.
I will still argue that the industry won't fully die. But it is sick and unless something changes we're headed for a big crash where most people bail but indie devs and small studios. The billionaires will lose big because of their mismanagement.
They'll move their assets to another industry, no biggie. The only people suffering any issue will be customers and of course workers of said industry, as usual.
I think cuz we're people who never feel enough, wanting more. Not a problem, if we have infinite time and resources in this forsaken world, but thats not the case.
Agreed, they need to hire better writers who love the genres they need to write in, better artists and better staff and also have less HR interference. What is needed is a more dedicated industry.
I feel like the animation and gaming industry are both suffering from the same thing right now.
So many people losing jobs and studios being shuttered all to cut corners and increase CEO bonuses. Or unrealistic profit expectations. It's the fuckin snake devouring its own detail.
I've been having a deep seated hatred for shareholders. General Motors and Neutron John and their consequences have been a disaster towards the modern industry in general
Just short term goals, nothing else.
I personally have given up on being a game dev professionally.
Us furries have not given up on art or animation, though. Check out Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, and Lackadaisy. Here's a teaser for you: https://youtu.be/UGt0mCEZy8Q?feature=shared
If you mean motivation, here's a great motivational song that's also a furry anthem because it describes what being a furry is like. https://youtu.be/ILWSp0m9G2U?feature=shared
Marvel Rivals is almost certainly going to be the most successful game of 2025, there is just genuinely no fucking possible explanation you can give for firing that team. If even the most successful game of the year isn't enough, then what the fuck is?
Lol Rockstar and TakeTwo would go out of business. They wouldn’t just scrap the most anticipated piece of media ever after working almost 15 years on it. I know other studios might pull something like that but not Rockstar imo
I go back to days of deals done over weed in Ryan Brants Office at The Guggenheim, to EA directors snorting coke & buying Cristal for hookers in clubs, to $10m grey market deals, to parallel banking bribes, to … anyway … it has always been thus.
Comments
"The AI told us to fire everyone...so we did it."
We're at the "The GPS told me to drive into the ocean, so I did it." Stage of human history.
So the only choice for video game companies is to increase their compensation packages and decrease the hours worked
my good individual i think they should be ~jailed~
Frequently a result of the rampant mismanagement and lack of accountability to workers have caused them to become prevalent, they're considered "normal" at *some* companies.
They aren't *required* for businesses to work.
It's when companies do things like try to find ways around labour laws just to avoid proper compensation when corruption begins.
Do poorly? Layoffs. Make a 10/10 banger that sells well? Layoffs.
1) pay no humans
2) addict customer to gambling
3) ai
4) profit
there you go
Why oh why do these execs not just flood the entire planet with themed casinos and call it a day?
they are obsessed with making 1:1 for the “all profit can only happen when someone is harmed” line
they want number go up
how you do it do not matter a them
you do every single thing you can to make number go up, in their world
game is equal to food is equal to conspiracy is equal to unbox is equal to
they don’t care about them self, others, the world, anything
I hate this timeline.
Directing everyone to freemium games?
I've seen it happen when I look at the history of certain industries. There is consolidation, then an attempt at a "formulaic approach" that kills innovation. Eventually it stagnates, and outsiders appear to fill the new gaps.
Buuuuut...
Kinda.
In AAA studios, that is.
The indie scene is FASCINATING.
The industry surviving long term is not even a consideration, only the next fiscal quarter
It has always been this way. It has never gotten better.
The fact that we still have any studios to make games constantly amazes me.
Just gotta hate the ppl that say about that bs.
So many people losing jobs and studios being shuttered all to cut corners and increase CEO bonuses. Or unrealistic profit expectations. It's the fuckin snake devouring its own detail.
Just short term goals, nothing else.
I personally have given up on being a game dev professionally.
(I mean I'm not a furry, sorry about the confusion I just am a fan of chiitan and Superman)
But yeah I just wish I had the energy to be productive again. Just hoping the doctor helps
Things were gonna go this way eventually
Games are profitable and they're popular. You are exactly right.
Just this time the money ran out.
I'm not saying doing that is easy, but there's no reason a billion dollar company can't create good games consistently if they're not being greedy