Veteran Dev Says He No Longer Understands Economics of Game Development

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Bawal Zehri

At Tech4Gamers, I hold the role of a News Reporter, where I merge my passion for gaming with my knack for storytelling. This unique blend allows me to bring you the latest updates, reviews, previews, and features from the gaming world.

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The games industry is no stranger to layoffs and studio closures. In fact, these things have only become increasingly more common today.

Xbox has recently announced several hundred more layoffs, pointing to the closure of teams like Halo Studios and Ninja Theory. Discussing this event and recent layoffs, the Double Fine Productions boss says that he no longer understands the economic side of gaming.

Why it matters: Layoffs have become commonplace across all major AAA studios. With the exception of Japanese teams, practically everyone is being impacted by layoffs and job cuts.

Tim Schafer, best known for founding Double Fine Productions and directing games like Psychonauts, has said he no longer fully understands the economics behind modern game development.

Speaking with BBC News, Schafer questioned why so many developers are losing jobs when the industry is still making money. He argued that many people are still playing games, so the layoff trend is surprising.

People are playing games and people are making money, so I don’t know why there’s a big loss of jobs.

Tim Schafer believes that some of the job losses can be blamed on greed within the industry somewhere. However, as Tim Schafer himself puts it, he doesn’t necessarily understand everything going on at the moment.

As for Double Fine Productions itself, the team recently went independent after being owned by Xbox for several years.

What do you make of Tim Schafer’s assessment of the games industry? Share in the comments below.

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Bawal Zehri

[News Reporter]

Bawal is an MBBS student by day and a gaming journalist by night. He has been gaming since childhood, growing fond of the creativity and innovation of the industry. His career as a gaming journalist started one year ago, and his journey has allowed him to write reviews, previews, and features for various sites. Bawal has also been cited in reputed websites such as Screenrant, PCGamesN, WCCFTech, GamesRadar, and more.