- Developing modern games takes much longer than before, often close to a decade, says Mark Cerny.
- Developers are creating huge, ambitious games that take years to make, leading to a shortage of new releases.
- The PS4 and PS5 architect aimed to speed up game development, but even with better hardware, games take a long time.
PlayStation hardware architect Mark Cerny has indicated that the time required to design and build a console like the PS6 might soon be shorter than the development cycles for AAA games.
This statement highlights that modern game development processes are becoming more complex and ambitious.
Why it matters: As technology advances and players’ expectations grow, the time and effort required to develop modern AAA games continue to increase.
Mark Cerny pointed out that video game development cycles have gotten much longer. While it takes several years to create consoles like the PS5, modern AAA games now often take close to a decade to develop.
Cerny’s main goal with the PS4 and PS5 was to speed up the process of getting graphics on the screen, known as “time to triangle.” This was meant to make game development quicker and simpler for developers.
However, despite improvements in hardware and tools, game development cycles have still gotten longer. Cerny notes:
They [devs] are going after these massive creations that take four or six years to put together.
– Mark Cerny
Cerny has openly discussed the challenges and opportunities presented by PS5’s architecture. He mentioned that developers’ feedback heavily influenced how the console was made, trying to fix issues they had with earlier versions.
Yet, despite making it easier for developers, the huge ambitions of today’s games mean creating a AAA title is still a massive challenge.
Longer development times mean there’s been a shortage of big releases, leaving gamers hungry for news titles. Events like State of Play and Summer Game Fest show just how excited and impatient audiences are for the next big hits from big studios.
Moreover, the longer it takes to develop projects, the more it affects the studios. Financially, longer development cycles increase costs, putting more pressure on games to perform well commercially.
With the way things are going, studios starting new projects are probably thinking about the next generation of consoles, like the PS6.
It seems like there’ll be a long period when games work on both old and new consoles, probably until about 2027, when everyone shifts to the new generation. This planning ensures that upcoming games stay up-to-date and work well on future consoles.
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