Where are the "I want smaller games with lower budgets and worse graphics and I'm not kidding" people https://t.co/DF9ebJQYWS
— Cory/PSI Wind (@psiwindftw) October 13, 2025
In the most recent Game Freak data leak, it has been reveal that titles such that Pokêmon Legends Z-A and Pokémon Gen Ten (WiWa) had budgets of around $13mil and $20mil (resp.) when converted to USD. And while these figures may not appear small in a vacuum, compared to the cost of other major releases such as Call of Duty: Cold War which infamously cost around $700bil to develop, many have interpreted these relatively low budgets as Game Freak not investing sufficiently in their games despite their blockbuster success.
While I do believe Pokémon could benefit from a larger budget, I also find it oddly endearing that there exists a studio which is able to pump out a very steady stream of decent quality releases without making tremendous investment. In fact, is this… not exactly what many gamers have been calling for? With all the praise titles like Astro Bot, Expedition 33, and indie titles receive for their small budget/small studio approach, and how often people will gush over Sony’s approach duringthe PS1-through-PS3 days, during which tons of smaller budget experiences with mixed quality were being pumped out at a very steady pace, I find it very strange how people are taking issue with the recent Pokémon news… and I’m speaking as somebody who hasn’t played a Pokémon game since BDSP (and who hasn’t enjoyed playing Pokémon since Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee).
So, I beg the question: Do gamers actually want smaller budget experiences developed in a fraction of time? With Z-A sitting at >80 on MC/OC, it’s clear that these games are by no means “bad.” In fact, one could argue that it is these small budgets and shorter dev cycles which have enabled GF to be as open-to-risk-and-change with the series as they have been, seeing how the formula has evolved across Legends Arceus, ScVi, and Legends Z-A.
Last edited by firebush03 - on 14 October 2025
