The Realm of AAA Games ‘Not Fine,’ Says Eternal Darkness Director Denis Dyack

[Alby_da_Wolf]

Slimebeast said:

He is somewhat right in that the middle-ground AAA games have become increasingly costly and risky and publishers have become aware of that. Examples are Dead Space, Crysis, Darksiders, Lost Planet, Dragon's Dogma, Dragon Age, Rage, Deus Ex, Devil May Cry, Homefront and Hitman. These games seldom make any money.

Activision already left that segment entirely after Prototype 2.

Instead the trend is to focus on the really huge titles (COD, BF, GTA, Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs, Destiny, MGS, Resident Evil, Fallout), or invest like crazy and try to ensure your middle-ground franchices take the step into the big league (Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, Tomb Raider).

The biggest AAA titles are the cash-cows, and they're not going away, every big publisher is going to continue to invest heavily in these.

But on the other end the middle-ground titles must adapt and try innovative business models or downsize the studios or else they will remain too risky and lose money, and that's where Dyack's point comes in.

@bolded: yes, and this is why I say many teams should learn from The Witcher's devs and other successful teams that are able to regularly produce high quality titles without costs skyrocketing.