There are two explanations for this problem that I can think of off the top of my head.
1) Games cost more because they use more resources. What is the most important and expensive resource?
People (x time).
The bigger and more successful a corporation, the more those people are going to cost. If you have 200 employees working on a video game for 6 years then that is a lot of money, especially if it's an established studio that wants only "the best" on their payroll. What is the mean salary going to be for somewhere like Santa Monica Studio? Maybe around 100k? Senior roles earning millions a year? Each employee then needs work materials and tools. Each employee costs even more in benefits.
That's just the start, though, because the more employees you have, the more employees you need to support them. Anyone who has ever worked at a large corporation knows about the bloat of management, human resources, and support staff roles, most of whom generally get paid very well. A good portion of the names who "worked on" an AAA video game probably never actually worked on the video game itself.
There is also another layer of corporate management and support staff hidden on top of that, so the real cost would be even higher.
This can't be compared to an indie studio, where the cost-per-employee is going to be exponentially cheaper--though, of course, a success often means all of those costs go up instantly.
2) Games also cost more just because they can. If you tell a studio that they have a $200 million dollar budget then that is how much it will cost AT THE LEAST. Very possibly more. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. They're going to add experts in eyebrow animation. They're going to spend time modeling underwear that will never be seen beneath the clothing. They're going to add in details no one cares about simply to justify that massive budget.
Solution (?): It's very likely that those AAA video games don't need to cost nearly as much as they do but corporations waste a ridiculous amount of money upfront then slash costs (fire employees) AFTER the cows have left the barn.
Many of these studios could make games for less, they just don't want to derail their money train. Massive budgets mean more money for them and, honestly, the ones in charge rarely pay the price when they fail to turn a profit. It's kind of a scam, when you think about it. They complain but they don't change.
This is why a lot of industries use contractors for as many things as possible, because they are generally more agile and streamlined. They get the same tasks accomplished but faster and cheaper. Small business employees often work hard to get things done because they are invested in the result, while corporate employees work hard to drag things out as long as they can because they have a cushy gig.
If it were me, the first step would simply be to reduce budgets and force studios to scale back. Tie management bonuses to budget goals.
The second step would be to spend more resources locating and supporting smaller studios. If something looks innovative or interesting then I want a version of that on my platform ASAP and then we can talk about developing a limited exclusive.
It's mainly a problem of corporate waste and management that has no real incentive to change.
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