The AAA Video Game Bubble Has Burst
9,700Video games have never been more popular, technically impressive, easily accessible to players, but the games industry has certainly seen better days. Skyrocketing budgets of AAA projects and diminishing returns on live-service games have resulted in over 23,000 jobs in the video game industry were lost in the two years. Over 30 video game development studios have ceased operations including Arkane Austin, Volition, and most recently, Firewalk Studios. While games as a service can be extremely lucrative, some projects never see the light of day, like Naughty Dog’s cancelled The Last of Us Online. On the other hand, some games do come out in some form, only to be pulled offline, like SEGA’s Hyenas, which never made it past a public beta, or PlayStation’s massive flop, Concord, which was completely taken offline just two weeks after launch. What’s the solution? There’s no clear answer, but smaller projects could allow for more innovation - after all, look at recent indie hits, like Balatro, Animal Well, or UFO 50, which were made by small teams.
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