After another year of layoffs, failures and endless live service games, what were the positives in 2024 and what could they mean for 2025?
It hasn't been a good couple of years for the video game industry. Nintendo and most of the other big Japanese publishers have carried on as usual but, as we explored in our roundup of the year's biggest news, it's been nothing but one disaster after another in the West. Yes, there are still fantastic new games released every month, but a look behind the curtain reveals an industry without direction or leadership. Or any feeling of shame for what has happened this year.
We made these same observations during last year's review and very little has changed in terms of the quality of management by Sony, Microsoft or any of the other Western publishers. There were more layoffs this year than last and, in most cases, not even the slightest hint of blame on the part of any of the responsible executives.
This is not surprising given that they have never acknowledged that any of this is their fault; that they didn't prepare for the rising cost of developing new games and that they were too greedy and stupid to realize that recklessly throwing everything into live service games, with everyone else doing exactly the same thing, wasn't going to work. None of that has changed this year, but what does differentiate it from 2023 is that there is now a ray of light at the end of the tunnel.
If the truth ever comes out about what's been going on behind closed doors at Microsoft and Sony over the past two years, it's not likely to be for long, given the poor picture it will paint of both companies. There have been reports of civil wars between both console makers (Microsoft's over whether to adopt multi-format or not and Sony's over whether to abandon single-player games in favor of live service games) and, while not can be demonstrated, it would certainly explain a lot.
Over the course of this year, both issues have evolved, and the question of Xbox exclusivity has become even more existential, as many fans worry that Microsoft is becoming a de facto third-party publisher, with little interest. in manufacturing their own consoles. Given the mixed signals that Phil Spencer and company have been sending out, mostly, it has become increasingly difficult to accept anything. I'm serious but the 'This is an Xbox' campaign seems to make it clear that Xbox consoles are a decreasing focus for the company.
Whether it's a good idea, given the intrinsic limitations of video game streaming right now, is a matter of debate but, as is often the case with Microsoft, it's unclear whether they're ignoring the problem or confident they can overcome it. he. Given the confusion that still hangs over its multi-format machinations, it's hard to imagine that its hardware plans will be explained in a more direct way.
There's similar confusion about what Sony's master plan might look like right now. Concord's embarrassing failure must surely have diminished his obsession with live service games, but his suggestions in that regard are ambiguous at best. Especially since it's still unclear whether the new CEOs named this year are the ones who fought for or against the move away from single-player games.
However, Sony announced new single-player games this year and no more live service titles, so along with comments from companies like Warner Bros. and Ubisoft, there's reason to hope that they've finally given up trying to make the next one. Fortnite. Or at least dedicate all your resources to doing so.
That has offered hope, as has Microsoft's increasingly interesting lineup of new games: Indiana Jones and The Great Circle may have been the last big release of the year, but hopefully it's a sign of things to come. The same could be said for The Game Awards 2024, also in December, which was not only the most visible incarnation of the show yet, but featured a host of new, varied and interesting titles.
However, the biggest hope comes from things that were constantly in the news headlines throughout 2024, but for which virtually no official information was released: Nintendo Switch 2 and Grand Theft Auto 6.
Both are supposed to launch in 2025, although not entirely guaranteed. Following the logic of a rising tide lifting all boats, that should be positive for the industry at large, where their prominence will make them, and by association of video games in general, a hot topic in a way it hasn't been since the shutdown.
It's especially important given all the warning signs we've had recently, with people playing fewer new games than ever and only half of PlayStation owners upgrading to PlayStation 5. The market seems to be shifting towards older, more hardcore gamers and, without However, publishers continue to focus on exactly the type of games they are least likely to enjoy.
Former PlayStation America boss Shawn Layden has been dropping truth bombs all year, but when he warned that rising costs would make publishers even less adventurous in the games they produce, it's not worth thinking about. this, given how safe and predictable its current production already is. is. But you're probably right, and your suggestion that companies should make cheaper, shorter games will almost certainly be ignored.
Publishers keep talking about how the games industry is changing, but it's hard to be convinced they understand exactly how. There is a growing disconnect between what game companies are producing, both in terms of hardware and software, and what their customers really want and the most worrying thing about this is that publishers don't seem to realize it or simply don't care. it matters.
The lack of direction and enthusiasm in gaming in recent years has been depressing and dangerous (just look at the list of best-selling titles in 2024), but there are good, solid reasons to think that 2025 won't continue in the same way. If that's the case, then perhaps the last two years will eventually be seen as an anomaly, with no lasting effect on the industry.
It may be wishful thinking, but at least it is possible to hope that the madness is coming to an end. Because if you don't do it soon, you may never get out of the tailspin the industry is currently stuck in.
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