GamesThird Person ShooterCult indie dev says the “AA revolution” won’t come back because publishers are chasing “a new Fortnite” and “Suicide Squad-sized bets,” that might get canceled anywayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesThird Person ShooterCult indie dev says the “AA revolution” won’t come back because publishers are chasing “a new Fortnite” and “Suicide Squad-sized bets,” that might get canceled anywayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Strange Scaffold)
One cult indie developer believes the AA revolution can’t dig itself out of the grave while big publishers continue to chase a “new Fortnite.”
Speaking to the Limit Break Network podcast, Strange Scaffold’s Xalavier Nelson - responsible forClickolding, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, and upcoming Next Fest darling I Am Your Beast - explained why he thinks we don’t see mid-budget games nearly as much as we used to.
According to Nelson, the industry’s “highest highs” will continue to exist because publishers want to “bet big,” and smaller indies will occasionally overperform, but “those Final Fantasy: Strangers of Paradise-sized games are the ones most likely to go extinct.”
“It’s all FEAR and GAMBLING”: Why game dev is IMPLODING with Strange Scaffoldâs Xalavier Nelson - YouTubeWatch On
“It’s all FEAR and GAMBLING”: Why game dev is IMPLODING with Strange Scaffoldâs Xalavier Nelson - YouTube
“It’s all FEAR and GAMBLING”: Why game dev is IMPLODING with Strange Scaffoldâs Xalavier Nelson - YouTube
“I believe, based off my own personal observations and suspicions, that games will continue to have the big outliers, likeBalatro, and AAA games that pop off to an incredible degree, likeElden Ringor Hogwarts Legacy,” he continued. “The thing that stops us from having a AA revolution is that you have to have money, and if the same people that could fund a AA revolution see another opportunity to take a Suicide Squad-sized bet [they’ll take the bet].” He then points to howWarner Brothers doubled down on live-service, free-to-play gambles- even after Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of last year - to chase that infinite cash fountain.
“Everyone who has the money to do a AA revolution instead wants to make a new Fortnite, and that new Fortnite might get canceled before it ever gets released. I think we will continue to have amazing outliers like Balatro, and the biggest of the big also doing incredible things, and in the middle, that’s where you historically have the biggest issue.”
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”