In the second chapter of my report from the long chat I had with former Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson, the owner and founder of Templar Media shared his opinion on the recent game delays and industry-wide layoffs. Both were, in essence, caused by COVID-19: the pandemic practically cracked the door wide open for remote work, which Gibson believes makes people less efficient and creative, and also sparked a massive hiring spree and inflated salaries, which are only now being readjusted. Regarding game delays, Gibson specifically mentioned Killing Floor 3, which he said took 5 years to make (and received a mixed reception when it launched last July).
The industry faced a "video game apocalypse" in 2023 and 2024 as things collapsed following the pandemic boom. Games were not always of high quality or were taking much longer to develop. For instance, the sequel to Killing Floor 2 took five years to make. I believe part of the reason for these game delays is remote work. While working from home feels great, people are often less efficient and less creative. Some of the greatest ideas in the games I have worked on came from random encounters in the hallway. Two people might have different parts of a great idea, chat in the hallway, and create a whole concept for the game. As part of this acquisition, the core team on Gate Zero is relocating to our offices in Georgia. Having everyone in the office will allow us to iterate quickly to finish the game. This business decision will result in a more entertaining and fun game for the player.
Another challenge was overinflated salaries during the pandemic. Companies with high COVID-era profits were overpaying for talent. For instance, an engineer might be offered a million dollars for their first year. This was unsustainable, and many of those companies eventually conducted massive layoffs. There is now a reset occurring where people must readjust their salary expectations to fair, sustainable levels.
As a reminder, in the first chapter, the ex co-founder and CEO of Tripwire shared his 'Entertainment First' vision for games (and movies and TV) that focus on fun instead of any specific agendas. In the full interview, you'll also learn a lot more about Gate Zero, the upcoming game based on the Bible.
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