The video game industry’s current turmoil, marked by widespread layoffs, is believed to stem from the conflicting interests between corporate priorities and the unpredictable nature of game development. Snow Rui, CFO at Hooded Horse, the publisher of Manor Lords, suggests that much of the unrest is as a consequence of public firms prioritizing predictable revenue streams over the realities of game creation, where each timelines and outcomes will be highly unpredictable.
Public firms seek consistent financial growth every quarter, which clashes with the inherently variable nature of game development. Revenue surges typically occur during game launches and sales windows, making it hard for big corporations to forecast success.
This unpredictability signifies that while games like Manor Lords, successful despite its area of interest genre and being developed by a single person, can succeed unexpectedly, failures are only as unpredictable, making it difficult for companies to take care of regular financial performance.
The challenge extends to indie developers who could also be impacted by these corporate-driven decisions. Nonetheless, Rui highlights that this uncertainty may work against the publishers themselves, because the rise of self-publishing provides developers with a viable alternative to traditional publishing.
With knowledge of self-publishing more accessible than ever, developers may opt to publish independently, prompting publishers to supply more attractive deals and prove their value.
Hooded Horse, Manor Lords’ publisher, seems to navigate this tension in a different way than larger firms. CEO Tim Bender emphasized that their focus is just not solely on profits, allowing them to prioritize game quality and provides titles like Manor Lords the vital time for development. This approach contrasts with many larger publishers, who may not provide such flexibility as a consequence of the financial pressures they face.
Ultimately, as self-publishing becomes more viable for developers, the normal publisher-developer relationship may shift. If developers proceed to maneuver toward self-publication, the industry’s dynamics could change, potentially making the present issues with corporate-driven unrest less relevant in the long run.
