- Shawn Layden has advised the industry to keep games short and cheap.
- This can be done by using less advanced tech and relying on smart work.
- He also emphasized being disciplined with work and strictly following deadlines.
In recent years, game budgets have risen to an astronomical amount, with titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 even exceeding a $300 million budget. However, a former PlayStation boss has advised the industry to produce shorter and cheaper games.
Why it matters: With budgets getting this high, there’s always the risk that if a game doesn’t sell well, it will lead to millions in losses. Therefore, reducing the costs as much as possible makes sense while still keeping the quality intact.
Talking to Games Industry.biz, Shawn Layden voiced his worries about games costing a fortune to develop. He advised the industry to keep the development period shorter and not invest too much to be sustainable in the long term.
Layden predicted that the rising development costs and exclusivity would hurt the industry. He stated that his prediction was not exactly positive but has unfortunately become a reality in recent years of game development.
He also has a few pieces of advice on maintaining game budgets. The first is to keep the new projects short, as only 32% of all gamers beat longer titles. Moreover, most gamers don’t notice most tech advancements, so there isn’t much reason to invest in this area beyond a certain extent.
AI was another factor emphasized by =the former PlayStation boss. AI should be used to do most of the heavy lifting since it can do it very effectively and without many errors. Also, he believes there is no need to chase photorealism.
You’ve got to have a disciplined idea of what you want to make and how you’re going to make it.
– Shawn Layden
Finally, he wants the developers to be disciplined in what they can deliver. He suggests they don’t stress much and follow strict deadlines to keep the quality top-notch. All this advice makes sense, especially from someone who saw this coming a long time ago.
Recently, many studios have had to face layoffs and even complete closures. That catastrophe could’ve been avoided if companies had managed their budgets efficiently, so we hope the industry attains a more sustainable model in the future.
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