![]() ![]() There have been countless games, like Outriders, Fallout 76 and Final Fantasy: The First Solider, that have enjoyed a moment in the spotlight before seeing player counts drop off steadily as they return to Fortnite and Call of Duty. It’s about time publishers and developers realize few titles can viably expect players to want to stick around for whatever post-release plan they have for the life cycle of a game, less alone pay for it cyclically. Ubisoft Bordeaux Creative director Stéphane Boudon has made it abundantly clear that Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which started development as a DLC expansion for the absolute behemoth that was Valhalla, will scale back the franchise’s scope considerably in favor of something more aligned with the 2007 original. Now, even Ubisoft, in its scramble to make a profit in the new year, is learning from their constant investment in the next, huge thing. There is an irony in Microsoft, one of the publishers arguably responsible for the trend of ballooning game development costs, is now leading the charge in creating a space for these smaller games to exist.Ĭompare these recent successes to what we’re seeing with Ubisoft, a company struggling to stay afloat after years of making big bets that didn’t quite pay off (not to mention more than a few other poor business decisions factored in). It’s probably fair to say it outshined the four other games that were showcased beside it. Just a cool-looking game, executed well, and presented to enthusiasts, with word of mouth doing the rest. Pentiment, Obsidian’s weird, but utterly delightful role playing adventure game, may have made less of a splash, but it was a critical success that found its audience without breaking the bank.Īnd now Hi-Fi Rush, a game that has garnered universal praise since its stealth release Wednesday, and after just two days, currently sits at number five on Steam’s top-selling games. (Squanch announced earlier this month that studio co-founder Justin Roiland has resigned from the company after 2020 charges of domestic abuse came to light in newly uncovered court documents. Last December, Squanch Games’ High On Life, a game that didn’t strive to be the next blocbuster, or overstay its welcome past what it did well, was the biggest Game Pass success of the year. While it's safe to say the big, triple-A releases we’ve grown accustomed to isn’t going anywhere, Hi-Fi Rush’s popularity, with a surprise release following zero marketing, is proof that there’s an appetite and audience for well-funded, masterfully crafted, mid-sized games. And as this trend took hold, smaller studios that were capable of making smaller games that gamers might find and play on a whim either folded or were bought up by publishers by the late 2000s and early 2010s. Many of the world’s biggest publishers were dead set on creating products with massive budgets in marketing and development. These smaller games became less common in the last decade as some of gaming’s biggest successes, like Grand Theft Auto 5, Skyrim, and Destiny set the tone, and a monetization model for a newer generation. These kinds of games may have been considered bigger budget releases in the early 2000s, but are easily dwarfed by today’s biggest productions both in scope and budget. Part of what makes Hi-Fi Rush unique is it fills a void that only smaller, independent titles and Switch games have for nearly a decade. ![]()
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