Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio
theverge.com
theverge.com
Sony and Nintendo have done their fair share of crappy things, but they also have just as many awesome games that "respect" gaming. I can't think of a single recent MS game that hasn't been an absolute flop in terms of just providing a great experience.
The anti-cheat stuff is even coming around, though there's still work on that front.
I doubt that's still true for the recent few years.
I get that it must be grueling to be an independent studio constantly jumping from one project to the next, worrying that a single misstep could mean people don't get paid. I've read the history of Obsidian studios.
But the alternative of not being under someone else's thumb is that it is less likely you are told, "Your team delivered everything we asked for--a stellar game, well-received, and it hit sales targets; but someone upstairs wanted more, so you're all fired."
If Google is addicted to reduction in personnel through automation, Microsoft is addicted to disposability. Almost all the work done on Microsoft-developed titles like Halo Infinite is performed by temporary workers who are employed for a period of months and then terminated. Microsoft thinks creative success is a commodity to be bought and sold, and it isn't.
I always end up having more fun with indie games (with some very rare AAA exceptions)
... Except in the rare case that the returns you want are in the form of good games, rather than cash. Then invest all you want in companies that don't constantly make excuses about why they need to exploit their workers and customers.
I bought Factorio long long ago. I still play it occasionally. If the developers asked me for money, say for an updated version, I would send money without question. But they haven't asked. Good game. Bad at making money.
https://vginsights.com/game/427520
Edit: The gross revenue is in the top 0.01% of all Steam games.
Maybe the kind of people who are drawn to those different kinds of games from smaller studios are not the kinds of people who will go for bullshit like microtransactions and subscriptions and the developers of those games know that.
Prior to the release of Subnautica, Unknown Worlds spent years developing and promoting Natural Selection 2, an innovative RTS/FPS hybrid that was the sequel to their crowd hit mod for Half Life.
They anticipated yuge money from turning the game into a frantic but predictable eSports thing meant for mass consumption with flashy paid skins and the like.
It was a failure.
The fanbase rejected it and it ultimately killed the game. They learned from that experience and delivered a totally different game which was based on the traditional business model of making a good single player game, selling it as a complete product and then if it's successful making and selling a sequel. That game was called Subnautica and it's probably the only reason you ever heard of Unknown Worlds.
There's no way I'm subscribing to Factorio, and I doubt there was ever a path to success for a game like Factorio that involved subscriptions just like there was ever a path to success for an incredible game like NS2 through eSports.
> By March 2012, Minecraft had sold five million copies, amounting to US$80 million in revenue. In November, Mojang had 25 employees, and total revenues of $237.7 million in 2012. [In 2013], Mojang recorded revenues of $330 million, of which $129 million were profit.
> In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.
Most high-profile games have been disgustingly bad for years, particularly looking at like Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft that puts out crippled AAA(A) titles laden with micro-transactions, game passes, and DRM as invasive as malware if released to PC. People are sick of getting poor value from expensive games.
Since Valve has been involved with Proton in Steam, finally making Linux gaming a real possibility, I find I buy and play lots of smaller indie games with a $5-10 price point that I would never have considered playing on a console. I laugh at games selling for $70-100 now, but I'll gladly spend $70 for 10 smaller games that will bring me far more joy overall.
Most expensive AAA titles also don't tend to work under Linux at all due to DRM, MTX integrations, etc that only serve to anger and frustrate me, whereas smaller games work almost universally, and increasingly more offer native Linux clients as well that we'd simply never see from EA, Ubisoft, and particularly Microsoft. Usually they have problems even working natively under Windoze well enough, asking for or expecting Linux support just makes them laugh.
I feel a lot better about supporting indie studios than the mega game and media cartels, and Valve/Steam always for their Linux support. Sony and Microsoft can feel free to die off already.