- Insiders have suggested that the industry will shift towards shorter and streamlined AAA games.
- The AAA budget is so high these days that if a game fails, it takes down the entire company with it.
- Recent releases like Suicide Squad and Concord are great examples of these kinds of games.
AAA gaming is in a very concerning state right now. With ridiculously high budgets and many games failing to make enough revenue to sustain growth, the industry is struggling. Amid this, insiders have predicted a shift towards shorter AAA releases.
Why it matters: The shift towards shorter games would allow lower budgets and let developers experiment with new things. Even a former PlayStation boss and other developers have previously stated that shorter, cheaper games are the way to go.
According to an industry insider, $70 games could become more streamlined and shorter in the future. Instead of 50-60 or even hundreds of hours for certain titles, we could be looking at the majority of games taking 15 to 20 hours to beat.
There is a lot wrong with the industry that this approach can fix. The gaming industry is in a sort of identity crisis where most releases are a hit or a miss. It has become really hard to identify what resonates with the audience.
On the other hand, players are craving something fresh and creative. Games like Black Myth: Wukong and Hi-Fi Rush prove that this is the case. You don’t need a high budget or an especially long game to find a hit, you just need to be perfect in what you do.
Recent AAA games like Star Wars Outlaws have been such a financial disaster that they’ve taken Ubisoft’s stocks to a 10-year low. And this was a title from a universe with a massive fan following bound to at least sell well.
So, a shift towards shorter games would allow creative freedom and more experimentation, which could result in much better games. Most people also have a busy life, so taking hours out to finish a considerably shorter game is ideal for them.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.