Are We Entering a New Golden Age for Indie Game Development?
Reading the top headlines at IGN or TWIV, you may think that video games are on the brink of collapse. Microsoft just laid off 3,200 developers and closed four studios in the process. Sony, never the one to miss out on some negative press, just signaled the end of physical games media.
On top of that, the Artificial Intelligence boom has quickly ushered in stagnancy on consumer electronics. Micron makes AI chips now, apparently, and eschews from producing any new consumer RAM. This has spiked the cost of consoles and PCs. People have hit their limit, and it looks like these gob-smacking prices aren’t dropping any time soon.
One of my personal disappointments amid all of this turmoil is Valve’s recently launched Steam Machine. It’s selling for $1500 CAD, about $400-500 more than Valve admits it wanted to sell the console-PC hybrid for. It’s more than just out of any reasonable price range, the product simply does not make sense at that price.
My hunch is that the Steam Machine is the canary in the coal mine. When other manufacturers re-up their RAM supply, they will also buy at historical highs. Soon, every piece of hardware will stop making financial sense.
All of this news foretells a very real possibility that, by the time the next generation of consoles release, the Playstation 6 and Project Helix from Xbox could cost upwards of $1500-2000 CAD.
The next generation of consoles will be, without question, boutique hardware. They will run the latest games with the fastest load times, the most frames per second, the godliest of ray tracing lighting effects. But like a fine suit or expensive watch, they will cost a premium most gamers cannot afford.
As with anything boutique, players will lust over the fancy new devices, but likely continue to play on what they have now. That means new games that can run on Playstation 5s, Steam Decks, and older PC GPUs like the RX6600Xt will reach the maximum number of players.
With Micron signaling that these prices will stick around for at least five years, older hardware will be relevant for at least that long.
AAA game studios are going to be hit hard with what the new CEO of Xbox calls dubs an accessibility crisis.
If you happen to be someone that wants to make games, however, I’d argue we are entering a period of opportunity. There are free courses and resources to get you started, and if you want to be more serious, take a look at our video game programs.
What’s more, the audience for AA or indie games won’t dwindle. Rather, it will boom. With new gaming hardware jumping into boutique-territory, the install base for this generation may last upwards of five or ten years.
Players will be hungry for great gaming experiences, and the culture will be mostly focused on these games, as hardware will no longer be as attractive to most people. Indie titles that can marry a focus on innovative gameplay, strong story and characters, and unique artistic visions, with a low barrier to entry on the hardware front, will be more attractive than ever.
The latest entry into Gear of War, Halo, Spider Man or Last of Us will have all the lustre of a star, attractive but out of reach, while gamers will buy Meccha Chameleon, Megabonk, and Silksong.
Meccha Chameleon is a prime example of this indie potential. It was made in less than a month by a handful of developers. It runs on basically any computer that is compatible with DirectX11, which is probably close to 100% of Steam-capable hardware. People love it not because it has ray tracing or a realistic open world, but rather, because it’s fun.
Look, the news out of Xbox, Playstation, and Valve sucks. There is no question about that. But it’s important to see the silver lining. The road ahead is certainly tumultuous, but if you peer ahead just a little further, we just might be approaching another Golden Age for indie games.
