I spoke to over 40 game developers whose companies had been impacted by layoffs in the last year. They shared with me the explanations companies gave them for what was causing the sudden loss of their livelihood, but they also told me why those explanations didn’t always seem to match reality.
On top of that, do games become worse or am I getting old? Is it a combination of both? Is it nostalgia? Do I hate change? 🤔
I would say yes and no.
Games definitely have become way better technically especially the graphics. And there are plenty of great games coming out regularly. Plus when looking at the past there might be some survivorship bias, as we might just remember the good ones and forget about all the crap that also existed.
What has however changed and influences new releases massively is monetization. Especially when paired with the ever increasing budgets that we see in the AAA releases. That leads to decision making not based on what makes a game actually good, but how can we squeeze as much money out as possible.
Gameplay has gotten worse. For a good time I go back and play Shattered Pixel Dungeon.