Veteran developers argue that smaller teams could mean more successful games

The recent boom of independent studies spun by long-time game developers it came with many advantages, including a greater degree of freedom than its bigger triple-A brothers. Now, some argue that this freedom provides the opportunity for their game to attract more attention and succeed among players.

Several developers spoke Bloomberg about the benefits of their smaller teams. The reduced development friction has been a big plus for many; Nate Purkeypile, an artist from Bethesda Star field and the recently released one The invisible axis, noticed great productions”[are] not necessarily pleasant for many people. You really are a cog in the machine.”

Development budgets for games have become a bigger topic of discussion, thanks in part to the deluge of layoffs in the sector over the last two years. Many triple-A titles are cheap one hundred million dollars do, and not everyone gets that money back, leading to reductions and closures like those of Concord developer Firewalk Studios.

In early October, former head of PlayStation Shawn Layden lamented the death of the double-A genre, a niche that some of these small studios may aim to fill. Whenever an alumnus of a large studio starts their own team, a common refrain is the desire to take a less intensive approach to development.

Renee Gittins, president of the alumni council of the International Game Developers Association, echoed this sentiment. These smaller studios, he said, “are not burdened by the expectations of shareholders, who have little regard for the ebb and flow of game development costs and profits. [They can] take more risk and have lower overhead.”

Konrad Tomaszkiewiczwho founded Rebel Wolves in 2022, previously said that his studio provided him with “daily contact with the rest of the team”, something he said he missed as CD Projekt Red grew into a larger team. At the time of Rebel's announcement, he said he intended to limit the team's headcount to 80 people.

Many of the developers Bloomberg spoke to also cited clearer communication as another positive. BioWare alum Mike Laidlaw said his team of 50 Yellow brick games has “much more personal” relationships and communications. Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi also supported smaller teams, stating that direct discussions “[are] for me that creates a really interesting environment.”

Some of the biggest games of 2024 were Pacific Drive AND Lords of the manor, which seem to have been specially created by the respective creator. Heather Cerlan, another Star field he also highlighted how nowadays, he continued, players are showing a clear interest in titles “made by developers who are very familiar with the project”.

You can read Bloomberg's full article on the growing list of veteran-led independent studios Here.

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