The State of AAA Gaming 2021

[J4MES OX4D 10,177]

Konami:-

 

- Destroyed all their powerhouse franchises like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill and have now changed their last remaining established franchise into a free to play football game whilst removing the iconic brand and delivering a potentially mortifying montetisation system consisting of even a battle pass.

 

Ubisoft:-

 

- Began the last generation with two intriguing brands of The Division and Watch Dogs. Also continued Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and rejuvenated Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon plus branched into racing with The Crew. Now they've ruined Ghost Recon, saturated Rainbow Six, turned Assassin's Creed into a live service platform for the foreseeable, failed shamefully in the battle royale department and now they are relying on another Far Cry game and an outdated F2P deathmatch shooter as their next big titles.  

 

With all the money, studios, experience and and technology at their disposal, it's a an absolute disaster the state they are in currently. Their next two shooters will likely be DOA and it is scary to think what they will do with their new AC platform. 

 

Activision Blizzard:-

 

- With Diablo 3 and Starcraft reaching their peak, they had considerable success with Overwatch along with Heartstone. However, there has been some monumental gaping holes in content and new games which has seen them lose tens of millions of players. Even the new expansions for WoW hasn't kept people engaged and Overwatch 2 which is still a way off doesn't look like it'll have the same impact. They've literally been relying on Warzone income and what COD can bring but the lack of foresight and new material has cost them dearly and now they have a major lawsuit on their doorstep which could turn into a PR studio and devastate their internal studios along with budgets. 

 

 

It's hard to believe the state these companies find themselves in especially with their level of income and experience in the last decade. They've really got complacent and will now pay for it. I think companies like Microsoft with the game pass and working closely with studios will be a breath of fresh air in the industry and if Sony can continue their excellent exclusive range then its games like these which will get all the success and recognition. I've never seen AAA gaming or the companies behind them in such a sorry state but it's highly deserved. I'm not even going to mention EA as there's not enough hours in the day but if mainstream AAA gaming died tomorrow, it would be no big loss to the gaming world apart from easy money to shareholders and executives. 

[The3rdWalker 1,279]

The only thing saving Rainbow 6 is their flourishing esports program, otherwise I am really sad in the direction they are going.

[J4MES OX4D 10,177]

1 hour ago, The3rdWalker said:

The only thing saving Rainbow 6 is their flourishing esports program, otherwise I am really sad in the direction they are going.

I've heard it's gone all gimmicky now where it's more about the operators than the actual players. It's had a good run but with that and the horrible spin-off, it could severely damage the longstanding brand going forward and there doesn't seem to be any word on a proper new next gen game either. 

[The3rdWalker 1,279]

1 hour ago, J4MES OX4D said:

I've heard it's gone all gimmicky now where it's more about the operators than the actual players. It's had a good run but with that and the horrible spin-off, it could severely damage the longstanding brand going forward and there doesn't seem to be any word on a proper new next gen game either. 

 

Nope, still relatively the same. The only blunders they do is balance operators around optics. No goofy or weird game breaking characters. Esports still revolve around gun play and utility. 

[Riff Machine 2,116]

Triple A games are becoming more and more predictable with each “new” release.  It’s either the “Yearly update” (cod), remake of something old, Game as service, dark souls clone, or an open world sandbox/stealth/crafting etc etc.  
 

Not all are bad, but a lot of the gems are coming out of indie developers more and more mostly because they’re willing to take a chance at something different.  Most of the AAA publishers won’t take a chance unless a name is associated with the product.  

[phil bottle 9,940]

We haven't had a new GTA in what, eight years? Because online is a cash cow. But i suppose there is more choice now than ever and my goto games are rarely triple A. 

My most played games are all by indie developers, the only string is that they often spend a lot of time in early access.

[GazzaGarratt 11,162]

The real difficulty in the market is the desire to meet demand quicker than ever before as the cultural society we live in today just does not want to wait for games or content any longer. This isn't just games btw, its everything. Its why we have Netflix and see series come out as one whole series so people can binge stuff. In some ways we are creating addiction with everything. In games you see this with Destiny for example, as people hate timegating, although it was once acceptable back in the day. People want it all straight away and binge all the content as quickly as they can. The irony of this is then they say "Where's the rest?" which for me is so contradictory.

 

I remember reading some years back that it takes 6-7 years to make a top AAA game. The problem is that its too long to wait for that and a lot hangs in the balance on whether they'll make their money back on it. Remasters and remakes are the way they have gone to fill the void because its updating existing infrastructure without the extra energy and years putting into the design of a game as its already been made.

 

Whilst we shouldn't continue to accept shoddy remakes and poor AAA releases (looking at you Anthem), I think we also need to take a long hard look at ourselves as gamers. We've become abit more dangerous in ourt requests and then very dismissive of games that come out or get updated with battle passes and seasons - in which I think is actually a good balance to the world.

 

If a game has free to play elements and then says 'hey, if you like what you're playing, you can grab the battle pass/season to play more of it if you're having fun' then i think thats a perfect balance. Its not a Paywall. Its our choice. And ultimately the developers of some of these awesome games have to get paid somehow.

 

Problem with all that I write is that i'm asking for the most fickle-ist of groups to open up and be more appreciative of the state of games in some aspects. And a Gamers, like football fans, etc, will largely remain in the instant reactive world. An unrealistic world where no one wins.

 

Hope that was a decent 2p view 😄