Development costs too high, publishers will increasingly play it safe, for some executives

That of the development costs very high levels of modern video games was one of the most heartfelt themes of GDC 2024, the video game developers fair currently underway in San Francisco. Interviewed by Cecilia D'Anastasio of Bloomberg, some managerthe major publishers in the sector have explained that future projects they will increasingly play it safe. So they will take fewer risks, relying on known intellectual properties and paying less attention to creativity.

This is the model followed Marvel, as explained by Martin Sibille, one of Tencent's vice presidents, who spoke of the increasingly difficult risk taking, due to development costs which have reached 300 million dollars. Another executive, not named, reiterated that just as the film industry has bet everything on films with superheroes, given the swelling of budgets, the video game industry will also settle on known series.

A future of photocopy games

So the future is made of photocopy titles all set in the same series? Such caution has been explained by the slowdown in growth in the sector, which could be less than 1% this year. In the last period, thousands of developers have lost their jobs due to the reduction of expenses implemented by large companies. Many games have been canceled by companies such as Microsoft, Sony, Tencent, Bandai Namco and Embracer Group, just to name the biggest ones. Even series like Star Wars are no longer guaranteed choices, given the cancellation of the Respawn game by Electronic Arts, with related layoffs.

The behavior of the players themselves has become a deterrent to innovation: the demand for ever better graphics, combined with that of games supported for years, has made it more difficult to enter the market.

The traditional market has become too volatile, as explained by Saxs Persson of Epic Games, who sees investors more interested in financing platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, where users make their own games, rather than giving money to high-budget games, perceived as too risky: “too many things can go wrong”.

Few publishers go against the trend. Among these Devolver Digital, which remains with its idea of ​​launching games with budgets ranging between one and five million dollars, and Larian Studios, which after Baldur's Gate 3 will try something new and not yet announced.