It's all about the money

In 2020, gaming is saturated with battle royales, MOBAs and pay-wall games – you can’t go four or five YouTube videos without seeing an advert for Raid: Shadow legends these days (or there’s always Albion Online). Modern Warfare: Warzone back in August reached 75 million players in less than 6 months of release; Modern Warfare was estimated to be making around $2000 per minute back in June 2020. The current success of battle-royales is huge, now more and more people are being introduced into gaming through them. It is no wonder the worth of the industry is inflating by almost 10% every year. I would think gaming started its turn probably around the same time the first iPhone was released (2007-2008). The internet moved to our pockets – the opportunity of monetisation skyrocketed – this influenced the video game industry.

The shift in focus has led to companies delivering yet to be finished, unpolished products that are then marketed at full price. I have Modern Warfare on PC, twice I have had to do a complete reinstall and after every 200mb update (which occurs almost daily) I wait upwards of 10 minutes for shaders to install. So many moments of pointlessly shouting at the screen like it’s a window to the design department at Activision – ­Fix your game! Games are riddled with bugs due to them being rushed out of development because of deadlines – time is money, but that isn’t an excuse. If you’re paying for a product, you expect to receive more than just the packaging.

Consider this, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released back in March 2017. The game retailed at £60 and was an instant hit, you could watch a couple of videos and know instantly what you are getting for your money. Selling 20 million copies as of 2020 it quickly became one of the greatest selling games of all time. You play the game and you can feel the care and attention that was put into the game to make a brilliant player experience. God of War, again another brilliant example of pure attention to detail and one that prioritises the experience you have throughout the game.

This industry, after all, is business. Profits are needed to keep things afloat. Early access is needed for many independent developers, people looking to turn their hobbies into their life. Does the monetisation account for the flaws in games, not necessarily – there isn’t anything concrete to suggest this – but when you think, it is entirely possible. This is not to say that flaws didn’t exist before this monetisation trend, games have always had flaws. It is, however, to say it would be nice to see the larger developers pay attention to the finer details, as patrons we deserve this. Games launch with bugs, but those bugs should not be there one year on, 30 million copies sold later – I’m referring to you, Infinity Ward.

Years down the line, I will remember my time playing through Breath of the Wild, and my time indulging in Norse mythology on God of War. Yes, I will also remember many of the times I have dropped into Verdansk. Ultimately, although the game is a buggy mess, I had a lot of fun playing the game with my friends and the game – when it works – can be a joy. Although, I hope I don’t completely romanticise the experience and ignore the number of restarts, two reinstalls, regular shader updates, game-breaking bugs and a 250gb total file size. At the end of the day, it is acceptable to expect more from a game that grosses $2000 a minute. A minute.

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