The industry is buzzing with blockbuster titles, microtransactions and inflated budgets - but the joy seems to have been squeezed out a little. This is the opinion of former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, among others, who in an interview with Pause for Thought openly criticises how games are pitched today: it's all about maximising profits, engagement and market share - but no one asks anymore, "Is it fun?"
Layden says:
"Sometimes a pitch will start and they'll be: 'this is the monetization and this is how we're going to capture the total addressable market. I've had to stop some people and say: 'Hey, hold—no, wait. What's the fun part?"
According to Layden, the industry needs to make a major change of course. Instead of 80-100 hours of epic grind and vast, unfathomable game worlds, we should once again see games with more compact experiences lasting 20-25 hours and lower budgets — things that Expedition 33 or Hollow Knight: Silksong have proven are still viable.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwH_otOCDmQ</social>