Video game veterans talk going indie, staying solo amidst industry consolidation

Source: Electronic Arts

It's safety to say the last couple of years have been some of the near interesting and tumultuous ever for the video game industry. In the wake of the COVID-nineteen pandemic, teams shifted to work entirely from home, something a majority of studios are still doing. This has led to numerous game delays and we're probable to see even more than delays as 2022 continues.

Meanwhile, the rate of studio acquisitions and overall industry consolidation has also vastly increased. It feels like speculation is at an best high and I take to keep "X Company has been acquired" prepare to copy at a moment's notice for a headline. At the same time, only over the past couple of years, we've seen industry veterans leaving the "AAA machine" to constitute their ain studios, including Archetype Amusement, Bokeh Game Studio, Dreamhaven, Gravity Well, WolfEye Studios, and more.

Looking ahead to figure out where the industry is going is challenging at the best of times, and we are far removed from the all-time of times. As such, I solicited the opinions of several independent developers and studio heads to gain insight into the industry's electric current outlook — where everything is at, where it'south going, and if consumers should exist worried.

And so just why is everyone leaving?

Source: WolfEye StudiosWolfeye Studios' debut release, Weird Due west.

Why are so many veterans heading out on their own correct now? Details differ, but for anybody I gathered comments from, it all comes dorsum to control, inventiveness, and a desire to work on a smaller-calibration team. There's a consistent theme that communication stagnates by effectually 100 staff, reducing the touch of an individual's contribution.

"We can tell you from talking to applicants that the number one draw so far has been 'I want to work on a small team,'" Respawn Entertainment veterans and Gravity Well co-founders Drew McCoy and Jon Shiring explain. "Royalties, ownership, and other things that we talk about all come in far behind that in terms of interest from developers. So speaking not just for myself, at that place is a pool of talented developers who are craving something that big companies cannot necessarily provide — this is a existent reward for new studios."

"With the amount of new studios forming in the last couple of years it feels a little flake like we might exist at the get-go of a new era of resurgent independent game evolution. In our experience it takes 3-plus years for a new studio to start showing the fruits of their labor, so unfortunately nosotros won't run into the results of these new studios for a little while longer. We're very interested to see what the world looks like in five years!"

"With the amount of new studios forming in the last couple of years it feels a little bit like we might be at the beginning of a new era of resurgent independent game development."

It's a theme backed upwardly past Wushu Studios director and founder Alan McDermott, who believes AAA culture is actually getting amend in many ways simply can still hinder advice, with team meetings at large studios needed in order to confirm small-scale details an independent developer could solve in an afternoon. He notes that according to Wushu design director, Nigel Kershaw, developers meet games as they make them from the ground up, while players encounter a game from the superlative downward. Getting to that point where everything comes together is more complicated in AAA development.

"As I'm certain everyone reading this will know, making video games is tough. Information technology'due south complicated, technically challenging, and riddled with pitfalls that tin be extremely hard to foresee and avoid. This is true for small indie games and big AAA games akin. Ane of the main differences I found between making AAA games and making indie games is the ability to make decisions gets easier when there are fewer people involved."

That'south not to say that contained development doesn't come up with its ain many, many challenges. Money is always an event, though it manifests in somewhat different means. Fiscal gamble is ever present when making games but without a publisher covering the pecker, the wrong move can mean disaster.

"The 1 thing that remains common ground whether it's AAA or Indie, is money. As in, there's ever the balancing act of juggling dreams and ambitions with the reality of what is financially possible," McDermott said. "On a AAA game, the consequences of a bad conclusion or lack thereof can be devastatingly costly. Not that it'south not stressful on indie games, of course… in fact, I think a lot of people who make the spring from AAA to indie speedily realize that it can exist so much more personally stressful on a smaller title that yous're invested emotionally and financially in yourself!"

It's not that AAA game evolution is in problem per se, simply in that location are clear reasons why anyone who has been in the manufacture long plenty would want to strike out on their own.

Source: WolfEye StudiosRaphaël Colantonio, president and creative director at WolfEye Studios

"My problem is when the force per unit area applied by the 'auto'... encourages teams to get safe and consensual because the financial model requires huge amounts of sales in guild to feed the entire machine, usually a very inefficient and greedy machine who doesn't care about the fine art of making games," said Raphaël Colantonio, president and creative manager at WolfEye Studios, while likewise noting that he doesn't take anything against "highly executed games."

"In fact nosotros are trying to find the correct dose of execution, the right ratio of 'money invested and execution quality' then that our games are both uncompromised creatively (which is a risk and inherently more than niche-y) while having a risk to recoup and make money, thus allowing to endeavour new things and brand more than games with a take chances to introduce."

He'south full steam ahead on staying contained for now. When asked most why he left Arkane Studios, he'southward frank about simply wanting a change of footstep. "In that location was no tipping bespeak. Bethesda was a peachy company, I just needed to take a huge break afterwards eighteen years, change things up in my life, redefine myself creatively a niggling and go for a new adventure."

Swain Arkane Studios veteran, WolfEye Studios CEO and executive producer Julien Roby adds, "I retrieve it was more than a matter of thinking, 'alright, after all those years working on all those swell games, what if we restarted with a clean slate, now that we fully sympathize what we like or dislike in game evolution, the kind of game we want to work on and build a company that would exist the perfect fit for that.'"

Things won't go back to normal, merely that'due south a adept thing

Source: Wushu StudiosWushu Studios team members pile in for a Zoom call

Even as vaccination programs roll out across the world and teams are able to go back into the same building over again, many won't. The last year brought massive changes to how some big studios operate and many of those changes could be hither to stay, in ane form or another.

"For anyone who wasn't already doing information technology, it's at present proven that information technology absolutely tin piece of work."

"Many companies are going to prefer, at the very least, a hybrid model with smaller office spaces mostly for meetings, the rest existence from habitation. In a weird style, the pandemic allowed the world to realize they tin work with people remotely and it works fairly well," said Colantonio. The team at WolfEye was already working from habitation, meaning it has been far less disrupted than other parts of the industry.

Another major benefit in working from home comes from how studios around the earth can and should recruit various voices regardless of location. This can help to ensure key talent isn't region-restricted, while talent that might've gone unnoticed entirely becomes accessible.

Source: Larian Studios

McDermott believes the rest of the industry will have to adopt these practices now, as information technology expands available reach no affair where a team is located in the globe. Wushu Studios has expanded to nearly 50 people over the past year, with the team providing back up work on games similar Devastation AllStars and Baldur'southward Gate three, every bit well as other projects that can't be talked about right at present.

"For anyone who wasn't already doing it, information technology's now proven that information technology absolutely tin can work. The positives this brings for our industry are huge," McDermott said. "We used to talk about 'talent pool' in a way that felt finite — like, at that place's only so much talent in this area, and in one case everyone's got a job yous can't hire anyone! Well, it's unlike now. We tin legitimately talk about a global talent pool, where talented developers from all effectually the globe can see our studio as a viable option without having to uproot their life."

Meanwhile, McCoy and Shiring are on the opposite side of things. Every bit they've started their new studio, they've been able to sentry the positive and negative aspects of adapting to working remotely, opting for a middle-of-the-route approach. Their focus is largely on team wellness, preventing burnout, seeing creativity rewarded, and aiming to abound the studio size from around 80-85 people in full. As part of this, they plan to open an office in Los Angeles later this yr for anyone who wants the social attribute of sharing a physical workspace, merely employees won't be mandated to use it.

"There are also recruitment benefits from non forcing employees to move to Los Angeles. There are a lot of people out there that are very willing to alter jobs merely are unwilling to uproot their lives and families, and previously we just missed out on those employees. Embracing a distributed workforce allows u.s. to tap into a much larger puddle of candidates," McCoy and Shiring said.

Everyone'southward ownership everyone, simply it will finish — eventually

Source: Microsoft

Equally long as the video game manufacture has existed, companies have caused other companies to strategically bolster their output. There'south nothing new there. What is new is the sheer rate at which companies are being snapped upwards lately, with Embracer Group grabbing teams like Gearbox on what can experience like a quarterly basis and major publishers Bethesda Softworks and Codemasters purchased by Microsoft and Electronic Arts, respectively.

Are we getting to a point where independent studios will be pushed out, unable to compete as teams are snapped up to provide content left and right? Non according to McCoy and Shiring, who tell us that right now, what we're seeing is the "large players push to fill in their slate of games."

"At some bespeak when subscriptions aren't growing every bit apace as they used to, that investor premium will fade and the market will reward profit instead of subscriber revenue again, and then this acquisition cycle will absurd off," they said. "Seeing everyone become out of the water right every bit y'all start to swim can be a little worrying, but we accept seen that there are a lot of developers who are interested in the same things that we are, so we're happy to keep going.

"How nosotros make games is changing and how we eat video games is evolving."

Many of the acquisitions over the last couple of years have been somewhat obvious, whether it was Sony finally put a ring on its decades-long relationship with Insomniac Games in 2022, building on the success of Marvel's Spider-Human being to bring the iconic developer into Sony Worldwide Studios or Nintendo acquiring Luigi's Mansion iii programmer Next Level Games. Other purchases, similar Microsoft'southward aggressive expansion of the Xbox first-political party stable, tin feel at a glance more than disruptive but overall, there's no reason to wait it's anything other than part of the current bike.

"How we make games is irresolute and how we consume video games is evolving. We're adapting to those changes and finding new methods and partnerships to assistance u.s.a. achieve our goals equally developers, but it's breaking new footing in many ways," McDermott said. "I remember it's logical that bigger, more than experienced, and well-known companies are looking to bring smaller teams with cutting-edge ideas on lath. It'south very much a 2-style street, I think. Leading an independent team of marvelously creative and talented people, I feel hopeful that these new partnerships aid these talented smaller teams maintain their identity but strengthen their capabilities."

Colantonio is of a similar heed, though a scrap more than cautionary, pointing to how the purchasers demand to be taking care of the newly acquired teams.

"Some consolidations are good and allow artistic to attain their dreams. So I'g all up for consolidations as long as they preserve company culture, serve passion and allow for making improve games. My only caveat is when consolidations are a tactical movement that serves simply the business people involved while crushing the creatives with paralyzing new corporate policies," Colantonio explains.

Things are changing but staying the aforementioned

The manufacture has been set dorsum by the events of the last couple of years. At the same time, there are some benefits. Fifty-fifty as the pandemic has delayed numerous blockbusters, there are insights for new teams to glean from every bit they set off in crafting their own experiences. It's non just a fourth dimension that enough of veterans are embarking on regaining their creativity but a soft reset button allowing more opportunity moving frontwards.

All things considered, despite the differences in feel and focus beyond developers, there's a consequent theme that emerges from the feedback: We don't need to be worried about the unabridged industry existence gobbled up past a tiny handful of players. New studios are popping up all the time, keeping the manufacture good for you both for evolution veterans and consumers alike.

That doesn't mean I'm eager to meet unabridged publishers gobbled upward, such as in response to ZeniMax Media existence acquired by Microsoft — I've previously argued Sony should avoid such retaliatory business tactics — but as the industry has apace expanded over the past decade, then too is it natural for at that place to be a heavy buying period.

We're merely in the middle of a consolidation phase. Certain, at that place'll be fewer publishers and large independent studios for a time, but information technology's that latter statement that is key: for a time. At all times, the seeds are beingness sown for the next generation of talent.

An Elden Question

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