Arkane founder appeals to people concerned about game industry crash: „The market is correcting, we need to adapt”

by

The founder of Arkane Studios emphasizes concerns about player burnout from repeated sequels and spin-offs, suggesting that the gaming industry should focus on creating games with greater enthusiasm in order to keep pace with a market that naturally corrects itself.

Raphael Colantonio, another game developer, has voiced his concerns about the current state of the gaming industry. In essence, it’s in a tough spot. Last year, approximately 15,000 developers found themselves unemployed, and numerous studios had to shut down. To add to the grim picture, several projects flopped, with Concorde being one of the most notable failures. Unfortunately, the outlook for 2025 isn’t much brighter.

In his latest update on X, the developer echoed some common sentiments from industry peers over the past few months. These points include the struggle to find buyers due to an overwhelming number of game releases, increased production costs leading to higher game prices, and a potential player exhaustion with sequels and spin-offs of established brands, as well as games-as-a-service. Interestingly, he didn’t bring up the topic of overly expansive open worlds.

According to him, game creators must adjust to a market that naturally evolves, as suggested by Ben “Cohn Carange” Cassel. Colantonio echoed this idea, emphasizing the importance of games fueled by “intense enthusiasm.” The streamer also foresees that aside from established giants, there will be an increase in studio and publisher closures and splits, even among those specializing in AAA game development.

Crash of the game market or crash of AAA games?

It’s true that veterans from prominent companies are leaving their groups to launch their own game studios. This doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, though it’s worth noting. Furthermore, we see games bucking trends, not just single-player ones like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Black Myth: Wukong. Additionally, game-as-a-service projects are emerging from less recognized teams, such as Palworld and Helldivers 2.

Conversely, Ubisoft finds itself in a challenging situation where there’s buzz and conjecture about a possible takeover by another company, potentially being the French publisher.

Despite what Colantonio suggests in his talk, I must admit I’m not fully on board with the idea that the entire video game market is headed for a crash. At best, it seems more accurate to discuss the potential downturn of AAA games.

Read More

2025-02-13 12:05