- Helldivers 2 studio boss Johan Pilestedt claims developers must take more risks in their games.
- He argues that taking safe bets and chasing trends saturates the market; it is a death sentence for the industry.
- He wants the developers to do their own thing and pursue their own styles, which will be different from those of others that aren’t copied.
Increasing budgets and the scope of AAA games have made developers more susceptible to chasing proven formulas and avoiding risks. While this strategy can work in the short term, Helldivers 2’s boss now argues that not taking risks is causing the industry’s death.
In a new interview, Arrowhead boss Johan Pilestedt claims developers need to stop saturating the market by chasing every industry trend. He argues that taking these ‘safe bets’ is the main reason behind studio failures.
Why it matters: Helldivers 2’s boss clarifies that games must be diversified as more people play them. Instead, the developers try chasing trends, which leads to the industry’s downfall.
As reported by PCGamer, Johan spoke at the GDC event against the rise of live-service games and developers who keep chasing the same formula. He clarifies that many gamers don’t want to play those games and want to spend money on more innovative titles.
One thing I can guarantee is that those safe bets are a death sentence for the studios that try to make them.
So, these gamers are left empty-handed as studios compete against each other and collapse. As the number of gamers has grown, the industry needs to diversify into enough unique games to satisfy all of them. This can only be achieved when studios stop playing safe.
It’s ridiculous. If everybody stopped making battle royales and made [different kinds of] games, we wouldn’t be in this position.
Johan clarifies that the best solution to this dilemma is for developers to chase their unique styles. To him, investing in innovative games is much better than creating a high-budget copy in a saturated genre to see it flop later on.
Do you think Helldivers 2 succeeded because Arrowhead was not afraid to take massive risks with the addictive multiplayer entry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devotedly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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