Veterans from Dishonored, Ultima Online, and Her Story are arguing that the games industry’s current troubles aren’t a game problem. They’re symptoms of a broken economic system.
A new Edge report gathers multiple industry veterans sharing their thoughts on the state of the game biz. The general agreement: this is a very bad time for the industry. There’s some disagreement on just how bad it is — Tim Cain says it’s not as bad as the infamous crash of the early 1980s, while Brenda Romero says it’s worse. But the bottom line is simple: things are not good.
The former creative director at Arkane Studios, Harvey Smith, was direct about it. “It’s impossible for me to look at this as a game industry problem, when really it’s the result of this much bigger, complex system that we’ve allowed to be captured by greedy, rapacious forces.”
Smith’s Warning From Arkane
Smith cited Redfall as an example of a game that came before the end of Arkane Austin, which closed down in 2024. He said the studio could have continued producing games rather than allowing the team to collapse.
“Instead of just being crushed and thrown to the wind, maybe those people would have figured it out and then, another cycle along, they would have had another Dishonored,” Smith said.
“And, even if they just made the occasional hit—one out of every three or whatever—wouldn’t you want to hold onto that? I guess the answer is no. You wouldn’t want to do that, if there’s an opportunity cost where instead you could put that money into AI, and even if it’s a bubble, your share price goes up massively.”
The point is that the game industry’s problems aren’t isolated to games. They’re tied to broader economic forces that have little patience for risk and creativity.
Short’s Warning on Art
Kitfox Games co-founder Tanya X. Short agreed. “I don’t think our current financial models are set up for art or entertainment,” she said. “I just don’t think art is what capitalism is designed to nurture. But humans are.”
Short’s framing is stark: the structures around games are not built to support creative work. They’re built to deliver predictable returns.
Koster’s Warning on Market Forces
Raph Koster, whose Playable Words studio recently launched a new MMO called Stars Reach, offered a structural diagnosis. “Systemic dynamics are what really make this happen,” he said. “Absent regulation, it develops into market concentration, followed by cartels, followed by monopolies. That’s intrinsic in how it works.”
Koster’s sequence runs through three stages: consolidation comes first, followed by cartel formation, and the whole process culminates in monopoly.
Barlow’s Radical Conclusion
Sam Barlow, known for games including Her Story, Telling Lies, and Immorality, put the whole situation in even starker terms. “Ultimately, to fix what’s broken in the videogame industry, we might have to fix reality,” he said.
It’s a depressing thought, particularly given humanity’s seeming drive to do the opposite of “fixing things.” But it’s hard to dispute the point when the mainstream videogame industry is busy swallowing itself via multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions that inevitably lead to massive layoffs and increasingly constricted creative decisions.
This year, Devolver Digital, which became a publicly traded company in 2021, declared its intention to leave the stock market behind, arguing that the videogame industry is fundamentally incompatible with the market’s demands for “predictable, sequential growth.” That admission is a blunt recognition that the current system is failing.
Smith’s Optimism Despite It All
Despite the gloominess of the situation, Smith said he’s “an optimist.” He believes that “people will keep coming together and keep making cool things.”
“The model might be different, the structure of it all might be different, but I’m hopeful there’ll always be a market for that, as long as people are brilliant and creative, and they want to do good work,” he said. “That’s what gives me hope. As long as I see that, I’m like, we’re going to come out okay in the end. It may suck for a while, we may have to depose some kings, but it’ll be okay.”
Who Else Weighed In
A great deal of territory is covered within the complete report, which also includes remarks from several other industry professionals. Among those quoted are Shawn Layden, Tim Sweeney, Craig Duncan, and Amir Satvat, the latter of whom received an honor at The Game Awards in 2024 for his efforts aiding game developers who had lost their jobs.
The report is worth reading in full at edge-online.com.
Key Facts Box
- Arkane Austin closed in 2024 after Redfall
- Devolver Digital went public in 2021
- Devolver announced its intent to get off the stock market earlier this year
- Amir Satvat was honored at The Game Awards in 2024 for his work assisting laid-off game developers
The Broader Context
What the veterans are asking for isn’t a revival of an earlier era. Instead, they say the present arrangement works against the sort of original creation that marks the finest games.
The “depose some kings” line from Smith carries real weight. It points to a trouble that goes beyond any single studio or title, according to the report.
It is being reported’s conclusion is grim but honest. The games industry is in trouble, and the people who built the classics know this, and the matter is now being stated plainly.
Source material: “Industry vets behind Dishonored, Ultima Online, Her Story and more agree the games industry crisis goes beyond games: 'Ultimately, to fix what’s broken in the videogame industry, we might have to fix reality',” PC Gamer.
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