You don’t need to be an expert to see that the video game world is going through a tumultuous period. Massive online titles, whose budgets could have financed numerous ambitious single-player games, are canceled shortly after launch. Projects well into development are abandoned even before their release, and ultra-expensive games, developed over long periods, too often receive mixed reviews. Players express dissatisfaction with AAA productions, and layoffs are multiplying while iconic studios close their doors.
Recently, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier revealed that the budget for an AAA title now exceeds $300 million, meaning that even six million units sold are not enough to generate profit.
Today, another veteran duo in the industry is weighing in on the situation, claiming that the current climate is actually worse than the legendary “Video Game Crash” of 1983 (which has its own Wikipedia page), a period during which the industry was crippled for two years. These are John and Brenda Romero who, in an interview with GamesIndustry, shared Brenda’s statement:
“I feel like the industry is in a really horrible place. I mean, we were there during the ’80s crash, and this is definitely more of a crash. So few people haven’t been affected, or their partner is affected, or they’re worried about being affected. It’s a really difficult time right now.”
John agrees with this assessment and points out that the current situation is so unstable that it’s difficult to predict the future direction of the gaming world. He cites a recent and bizarre example: EA made a fortune with Battlefield 6, which sold “really, really well” – but this success did not benefit the developers. Instead, the reward for this success was a wave of layoffs. John concludes:
“I don’t understand what this is all about.”
Nevertheless, both are convinced that people will continue to play games, but they believe that major publishers are completely disconnected from their audience. They cite discussions around AI as proof of this disconnect:
“It’s really one of those moments where I don’t know. And you hear behind the scenes, there’s a huge push for teams to use generative AI, and there’s a huge pushback from teams and players on using generative AI…”
What do you think? Are the Romeros exaggerating, or is the video game world truly in crisis right now?