Gaming

It's really tough to pin it down to just one thing.. to me, it's a perfect storm. This is anecdotal, of course. But companies made several bad decisions in a row. They seemed to think growth during COVID was normal and would continue annually. Some companies bought a bunch of other companies thinking this would be a new big push in gaming. Embracer group comes to mind.

Other companies decided to divert their very talented developers away from the types of games they were so good at developing, and towards what the business wanted to chase as far as revenue opportunities. Gatcha riddled live service games. Ubisoft, WB, Sony, EA, Microsoft, practically everyone chased this trend. Some put everything into it. Others dipped their toes. Some pulled back before it cost them hundreds of millions. Some spent hundreds of millions and got nothing to show for it. Some companies lost a lot of talent when the really good developers left to go work on stuff they care about. Others had no choice but to cut the business down to the bone because of all the money and time they wasted chasing a trend.

The government also started raising interest rates, which makes it more expensive to borrow money. So a lot of companies aren't willing to spend the kinda money they used to, not without a guaranteed return. So now you will see more consolidation and less risk in the types of games being made by AAA studios.

So yea. I think there's several factors, all could have been planned for with actual solid management, but that's not the kind of management running these companies right now.

That wouldn't indicate the panic, group think, and anger the media needs to remain relevant.

If you'd like to understand an industry usually a good place to look is independent industry journalists. People that can maintain integrity when it's financially advantageous to be deceptive are rare so most are just going to repeat what they heard someone else say or what they were paid to say or what they think will get views, but there are a few who will get into the actual history and lore of the industry, not just the slime bags trying to ruin it.

I would really really encourage spreading this frustration past the edge of the gaming industry.

No one likes talking about politics, until it affects their lives. Well, the ruling of the gaming industry by shareholders and MBAs affects you now.

There’s also internet providers, food supply companies, energy companies, and all types that are inflating their value and mass firing workers to make the world terrible and their CEO pay higher. If you can suggest a better way to curb that than government regulation, I’m all for it, but until then, vote in people that will force accountability. I have my own thoughts on who that means but will end the soapbox there since I’m sure we’d rather be gaming.