The development process for a new, high-budget game has grown so much that today the major studios are sometimes only able to release one production for an entire generation of hardware.
As it appears, a discussion on the ResetEra forum was provoked by popular journalist Jason Schreier. “Fun fact: the production cycle of a video game has become so long that a major studio wanting to start a brand new project today will likely already release it on PlayStation 6,” he tweeted.
The forum then released a poll in which most of the more than 700 respondents – 56.2 percent – agree that game development takes too long. “I’m willing to sacrifice some of the quality to shorten the cycle.” – the most popular option proclaims.
“The current game development time is fine” is the option chosen by 24.2 percent of players, while the rest – 19.2 percent. – is the opposite point of view. “Let them work longer! Most of these games barely work on release anyway,” – sounds the third choice point.
Arguably, Schreier is right. One could imagine that – for instance – that Sony Santa Monica, having finished God of War Ragnarok, takes on a new project that it is working on for the coming 4-5 years. Would there be a PS6 on the market by then? Sounds likely.
Moreover, Ragnarok isn’t exactly a “new” game after all, building heavily on the 2018 production. An entirely new world, licensing or gameplay mechanics would likely require even more work – and time.
The discussion on the ResetEra forum also includes no shortage of comments about how smaller titles would be less stressful for developers, and we’re talking, of course, an industry famous for long overtime.
“As long as the priority is the health of the developers, I have no problem with waiting,” he says. – notes a certain Lobster Roll. “There are so many projects coming out all the time from different teams that there is never a shortage of something fresh.”
“I agree [with waiting], but only because there are indie developers to fill the gap,” adds Worldshaker. “Maybe, but – on the other hand – I love my high-quality, dazzling 30-hour games,” he adds. – reckons Megabreath.
