AAA Gaming Killing Itself With Scope And Scale, Says PlayStation Dev

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Avinash Jaisrani

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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AAA gaming’s current roadblocks are no mystery. Nearly everyone in the industry is aware of the challenges this part of the industry faces, with ballooning budgets and layoffs leading to concerns about the future of gaming.

One of the developers behind Demon’s Souls Remake has recently joined the discussion. He believes that the scope and scale of modern AAA games are killing the industry.

Why it matters: Thousands of developers have lost their jobs this year. Various studios have also been shut down as publishers adapt to modern game development.

While layoffs continue to plague AAA studios more than halfway into 2024, a few teams, like FromSoftware and Larian Studios, have risen above these challenges. The former recently shared an anti-layoff stance, which received encouraging responses from other industry professionals.

Peter Dalton, the Head of Technology at Bluepoint Games, also shared his two cents on the statement. While agreeing with Hidetaka Miyazaki, he noted that the industry’s current ambition is proving to be its biggest undoing.

AAA development is killing itself with the scope and scale at which we are trying to build games.

-Peter Dalton

Both audiences and developers want the best games possible. However, this means that AAA teams can seldom put out games. This also puts additional pressure on each release, raising the stakes and making failure even more devastating.

Similar comments have been made by other developers in the past. Shawn Layden recently suggested that more patience is needed to make it through this challenging period.

He believes publishers should be more willing to invest in smaller, creative projects that may lead to results several years later.

Nonetheless, Peter Dalton has appreciated both FromSoftware and Nintendo. These teams have had it much better than everyone else, so they are leading by example in this challenging moment of gaming history.

Avinash Jaisrani

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