Shawn Layden, wearer of Crash Bandicoot t-shirts and a former executive at Sony Interactive Entertainment, has claimed that the current AAA game model is ‘not sustainable.’
Shawn Layden On AAA Games Model
Speaking with GamesBeat, Layden noted how there’s a massive upfront cost when it comes to AAA games nowadays, which can range anywhere between $80-$150 million. He also admitted that he’d welcome a return to the 12-15 hour format for triple-A titles.
The problem with that model is it’s just not sustainable. Major triple-A games in the current generation go anywhere from $80 million to $150 million or more to build, and that’s before marketing. It’s a huge up-front cost.
I don’t think that, in the next generation, you can take those numbers and multiply them by two and think that you can grow. I think the industry as a whole needs to sit back and go, ‘Alright, what are we building? What’s the audience’s expectation? What is the best way to get our story across, and say what we need to say?’
Instead of spending five years making an 80-hour game, what do three years and a 15-hour game look like? [AAA game development] won’t be less expensive than the current generation of game development. 4K, HDR art, and creating worlds don’t come cheap.
Personally, as an older gamer… I would welcome a return to the 12 to 15 hour [AAA] game. I would finish more games, first of all, and just like a well-edited piece of literature or a movie, looking at the discipline around that could give us tighter, more compelling content.
Sony is currently gearing up for the launch of the PS5 this holiday season, and we’ve already got a glimpse at some of the major titles coming to the system, including Spider-Man Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7.