There’s a lot of scepticism about the future of the games industry right now, which is hardly surprising given the sheer number of layoffs, studio closures, game cancellations, and failed live-service offerings.
Developers have raised concerns about the impacts that models like Game Pass are having, while others doubt the sustainability of big-budget, lengthy dev cycles, with hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at projects, turning every game into a make-or-break for studios.
Doomco-creator John Romero has been at the forefront of these hurdles, asXbox pulled funding from his new gameamid huge cuts earlier this month. But, unlike many, he’s optimistic about where the medium is headed.
Indies Are The Future Of The Games Industry, Says John Romero
As reported byPC Gamer, speaking onthe Nightdive Studios' Deep Dive podcast, Romero said that the industry is “so much bigger than it used to be,” highlighting the burst of indie games that have sprawled onto the scene in the last decade. “Just go to Itch.io if you want to see how many indies there are out there. How many games are released on Steam every month? Most of them are indie games. iOS, Android - indie, indie, indie.”
Romero fielded this question before Microsoft pulled funding from his studio.
Many of these independent projects have become critical darlings and breakout hits, rivalling triple-A releases in recent years. “When we look at the Game of the Year awards, half the time it’s indies,” Romero said, listing off games likeBalatro,Baldur’s Gate 3,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,Helldivers 2(published by Sony), andMinecraft, which became a gaming staple long before Microsoft bought Mojang.
“These are all indies,” Romero continued. “These people are the ones that make the triple-A companies go, ‘Wait a minute. We need to start doing this.'”
Romero explained that distributing used to require jumping through more hoops, namely getting your game onto a disc and into stores, which “You’re never going to do” as an indie developer. But with the advent of digital platforms, it’s easier than ever to get your game into people’s hands. So, for Romero,that’sthe future of the industry — the indie boom; risk-takers unshackled by the pressures of triple-A development, able to make bold swings.
But as PC Gamer explains, not every indie developer can be ConcernedApe. With a much lower barrier to entry, there aretens of thousandsof games released on Steam alone every year, making it much harder to stand out among the crowd. And without your game going viral, funding future projects is much harder, so indie developers often work in their spare time outside of day jobs. Games likeSchedule 1andPeakare the rare exceptions to the rule, not the norm.
Aggro Crab struggled to find a partner after the release of Another Crab’s Treasure, and Peak was the result of a desperate rush to make a commercially viable game in as little time as possible, withthe studio working 15 to 17-hour days.
So, maybe indie developers arethe future of the industry, but like triple-A, this side of the medium is fraught with problems. They might not see their studio shuttered if their game fails, but if their game fails, they might not have enough money to get by, never mind fund a new project.
