summertime Game Fest
When Geoff Keighley takes the stage at an event like The Game Awards , he does n’t tend to talk about current events . That ’s been a point of defeat for some people over the years who have voiced criticism over how the gambling figurehead uses ( or abuse ) his political platform . As Keighley walked on the stage at this year’sSummer Game Fest , prospect that he ’d acknowledge the current layoff crisis in the TV game manufacture were low . Then Keighley delivered the show ’s biggest surprisal in its first minute .
“ This has been a tumultuous and unmanageable yr with company layoffs and studio apartment gag law which have disappointed all of us . But there ’s also something else happening , ” Keighley said to open up the show before flipping to a slide showing the top 10 bestselling young games on Steam so far in 2024 . The list was n’t filled with megahit ; it was top by surprise achiever stories likePalworld , Balatro , andManor Lords .
“ Our diligence is germinate and changing . And thanks to digital dispersion , smaller teams and new creators are finding incredible success … Two of them are considered big company games , but the other eight come from indie , midsized teams , or indie developer . I await at this list and I get inspired that Modern ideas , fresh teams , and smaller Godhead can and will break through . It ’s a reminder to big companies that they have to treat their developer right , because today there are many path to sustainability and succeeder . And that ’s what makes this industry so , so majuscule . ”
It was a big moment for Keighley , which saw him directly addressing his critic and accept the responsibilities that come with a high - profile platform like his . But that moment was n’t just about Keighley ; it limit an important narrative about where the video game industry is headed that was threaded throughout the showcase . By the end of the event , the substance was clear : Indies are the next frontier for big newspaper publisher hunting for a more sustainable future .
Going independent
It ’s no secret that the video game industriousness has been in a freefall . We ’ve encounter over 10,000 workers laid off already in 2024 across publishers gravid and small . Xbox has laid off thousands on its own , evenshuttering beloved studio like Tango Gameworksentirely . Polygonreports that 2024 has already examine more layoff across play than all of 2023 combined — and its only June . It ’s a awful situation , and one that underline a need for alteration . Ballooning budgets , eight - year development oscillation , and tremendous “ megagames ” are no longer sustainable strategies . But what ’s the alternative ?
The recur answer at Summer Game Fest was by going small . Keighley made a more concerted exertion this year to showcase indie games likeKiller BeanalongsideHarry Potterand other IP behemoths . There ’s a cynical read on Keighley ’s opening monologue ; one could see it as a way to tightly operate the narrative of a live flow that lacked high - profile “ world premieres , ” as if to convince interview tuning in for bounteous reveals that they manage about indie more than they recall . That would be a smart way to prepare expectations upfront and paint a nidus on smaller games as designed , rather than the by-product of the tangible encroachment layoff are having on heavy biz .
set that take away , Summer Game Fest did paint a unfeignedly cogent narrative about sustainability . That became evident in two moments . One was whenAmong Uscreator Innersloth expose its Modern publication enterprisingness , Outersloth , that ’s mean to elevate promising indies in indigence of help . Innersloth ’s Victoria Tran call in the initiative a “ passion project and dream for a better industry . ”
The more crucial moment , though , came just before that , when Blumhouse Games got a long section inclose its mysterious publication architectural plan . While role player may have been bear the Hollywood megapower to reveal some glitzy horror secret plan , that ’s not what happened . alternatively , we saw a reel of tiny indies . revere the Spotlight , for instance , is a retro throwback made by two people . In an onstage segment after the reveal , Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum take the stage to explain his company ’s play military mission .
“ We wanted to try and take our coming to movies and apply it to games , and that ’s what you see here , ” Blum said during the show . “ We ’re going to do main games . We ’re going to wait for creators and give them a platform , and promote these creators to be unearthly and insurgent , and regain the most sleep together up , scariest thing they can and put them into very cool games . ”
Both moments sent a exonerated message : newspaper publisher see a path forward in support the kinds of small games that appeared in Keighley ’s opening slide of Steam success floor . That philosophical system is n’t just present in companies like Blumhouse . Xbox has already arrogate the meteoric succeeder ofPalworld , which launched on Xbox Game Pass , as a win for the caller . Even Sony has seen the fruits of that effort , asHelldivers 2 , from indie Swedish studio apartment Arrowhead , has raise to be a surprisal smash hit for the companionship . While megagames likeFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthstruggle to fulfil sales expectations , low game are give off for grown publishers .
New Hollywood
While this may be an egress trend for video secret plan , it ’s not unprecedented for the graphics at prominent . In fact , what ’s happening in gaming mightily now has a direct equivalent in cinema history . In the 1950s , Hollywood was solve through its own crash play along its golden age . There were several factor , including a 1948 Supreme Court ruling that broke up the studio apartment organisation , as well as telly ’s rise in popularity . Soon , the variety of handsome , templatized heroic poem that Hollywood thrived on were no longer sustainable — especially as they were n’t connecting with immature moviegoer .
In a Hail Mary attempt to save the industriousness , studios begin to take bigger risks in an attempt to regain a new audience . That era was dubbed New Hollywood . Rather than doubling down on state of war epic and musicals , they began fund film from young , independent directors who were going against the grain . Soon , then - unknown filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg arise to prominence . And while that method occasionally bring about pricy flops , it also revitalized public interest in movies . It was the fresh blood Hollywood needed to stay alive .
The moment we look at Summer Game Fest suggest that the video biz industry is on the cusp of its own New Hollywood minute . We ’re rapidly approaching a future where major publishers begin funding and pushing indie projects from small developer with prove success , rather than rely on bighearted - budget megagames . Do n’t be surprised if you see publishers like Xbox striking deals with developers likePalworld‘s Pocket Pair Inc. to make their next projects for them .
Will that strategy pay off ? It ’s a risk , just as it was for Hollywood in the sixties . It ’s hard to predict what games will be hits , specially when dealing with left - subject area lift pitches like “ stove poker roguelike . ” And just because a developer hits gold once does n’t intend its 2d secret plan will see the same success . Independent development has its own band of hurdles , too ; it ’s not a charming cure for the industry ’s problem . After all , the whole New Hollywood experience largely ended after the succeeder of Star Wars push studios back into making templatized megahit rather than gambling on barbaric ideas . publishing firm could toss indies to the side the momentGrand Theft Auto 6launches and gobbles up cash .
Until then , pay faithful attention to the kinds of small games that top the Steam chart from left field . The studio behind those games might just create your next favorite PlayStation or Xbox undivided .
