Earlier this month, the video games business gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada to have fun the twenty seventh annual D.I.C.E. Awards, honoring the better of video video games in 2023. It was a good time, and a whole lot of actually wonderful video games gained nicely-deserved prizes.
Nevertheless it’s additionally been a tough 12 months for the video games business. We’ve written about the present upheaval elsewhere, and it didn’t go unremarked upon onstage, both. Even in a time of nicely-earned pleasure, various builders onstage have been there having misplaced fellow crew members who must be celebrating with them. Even these fortunate sufficient to have averted layoffs have been accepting their awards in entrance of an viewers of friends rocked by job loss, funding uncertainty, and apprehension.
Backstage, we had the alternative to speak with nearly each one that accepted an award that evening. And whereas we requested them various celebratory questions and cheered with them on their victories and unbelievable video games, we additionally requested them, candidly, what they felt the largest problem going through the video games business was in the 12 months forward. Overwhelmingly, the mass layoffs have been the most typical reply, but it surely additionally wasn’t the solely factor we heard. Some builders introduced up different struggles that they’ve been reckoning with at their very own studios, and even smaller causes that finally have lead again to the bigger business struggles we’re seeing play out week after week.
So, from the builders of the finest video games of 2023, listed here are the largest challenges the video games business faces in the 12 months forward:
Scott Hanau
Senior rating producer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, winner of Excellent Achievement in Unique Music Composition
“I might say all the layoffs most likely, a whole lot of restructuring, reorganization, attempting to maintain all the groups collectively as finest we are able to and go ahead and make nice video games. It is fairly daunting typically.”
Rod Fergusson
Common supervisor of all issues Diablo together with Diablo 4, winner of On-line Recreation of the Yr
“I feel we hear loads about the notion round the way you proceed [growing the industry]. We are able to have nice video games and we nonetheless must have business development, and so discovering ways in which we are able to increase our attain. It is one in all the issues that individuals do not understand, that the majority of persons are taking part in on cellular and we do not discuss sufficient about that. And the thought of, how do you deliver your IPs and your video games to that cellular viewers and attain individuals who possibly haven’t got these platforms to have the ability to play? There’s three billion players on the market, how will we attain all of them? Attending to these three billion players I feel is the largest problem.”
Ramone Russell
Product improvement communications and model strategist for MLB The Present 23, winner of Sports activities Recreation of the Yr
“I feel the challenges all the time stay the similar, it is only a totally different day. I feel each online game improvement crew simply needs to make nice video games, however it’s a enterprise. At the finish of the day this can be a enterprise, so one in all the challenges that we proceed to face is attrition and with the ability to get the yeses for the issues that we have to do to have the ability to make these video games nice. Nevertheless it may be worse. It may very well be loads worse. It may additionally possibly be somewhat bit higher. We’re simply comfortable that we get to return to work and play in the sandbox and do what we like to do and dream about doing all the time, which is make video video games.”
David Walgrave
Head of manufacturing at Larian Studios for Baldur’s Gate 3, winner of Excellent Achievement in Story, Function-Enjoying Recreation of the Yr, Excellent Achievement in Recreation Design, and Excellent Achievement in Recreation Route
“Following up on ourselves. As an organization, there’s a whole lot of challenges that we face, as a result of we have grown vastly over a couple of years. I feel we, from the crew that labored on Unique Sin 2, we quadrupled, I feel. So to begin with, we have to make it possible for all these folks can nonetheless work on the subsequent video games. We must always not overhire as a result of then we are going to find yourself having to fireplace folks. That’s not what we would like. So it is once more about discovering that steadiness of how can we nonetheless preserve on making the similar kind of recreation as this one with out truly rising or overgrowing or bloating.
“Then for Larian, I do not suppose it’s a problem, as a result of this has all the time been our precedence, is to consider the participant first and the enjoyable first, as an alternative of how a lot cash is that this going to make. To us, it may sound cliché, we wish to make video games that we wish to play ourselves. We wish to deal with the participant the approach that we wish to be handled by publishers and recreation builders. So to us, a online game is sort of a factor that you simply purchase as soon as and it isn’t like a shell with all types of buttons that purchase you extra sh*t. That is not what video games are. So I do not know if that may be a problem for our firm, but it surely’s a problem for the business, to deal with folks like they need to be handled.”
Mike Fitzgerald
Director of Core Know-how at Insomniac Video games for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, winner of Excellent Technical Achievement
“I feel simply discovering methods to work collectively, assist one another. Studios who’ve wins, attempt to share these with different studios in the business and lift one another as much as be higher collectively. That is the Spider-Man tagline. Higher collectively.”
Bryan Intihar
Senior inventive director on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, winner of Excellent Technical Achievement
“I feel all of us perceive it is somewhat little bit of a risky time for the business, and we’re all hoping that we might be there for one another. I feel the most vital factor is, how can we assist one another on this, what is usually a robust time for some folks.”
Tim Garbos
Inventive director at Triband on What the Automotive?, winner of Cellular Recreation of the Yr
“That a whole lot of different persons are additionally making video games. There’s simply so many video video games on the market.
I play video video games. I performed all the demos on this Steam Subsequent Pageant. I obtained by seven [of them] after which I did not have any extra weekend. That is wonderful. It is also a problem but it surely’s wonderful.”
Hella Schmidt
Studio director and normal supervisor at Guerilla Video games on Horizon: Name of the Mountain, winner of Immersive Actuality Technical Achievement
“After I was up there, I used to be considering, am I going to make a press release or not? I feel we’re in difficult occasions the place you actually wish to sustain our inventive freedom, while being challenged with delivering video games on price range and on time. And I feel that offers an additional problem to an business that is already onerous. It is onerous to make nice video games. So, I do [hope] that when monetary selections are being made, that they notice that the energy of creating inventive video games is it is advisable to preserve the spirit alive, so that may be my reply.”
Matt Kramer
Studio inventive director at Sanzaru Video games on Asgard’s Wrath 2, winner of Immersive Actuality Recreation of the Yr
“I feel it is folks. Our studio is about folks. It is about the recreation designers, the audio engineers, the producers, everyone that makes these video games. There are such a lot of gamers in it and it is actually unhappy to see what is going on on proper now with all the layoffs and stuff. So hopefully we are able to flip that round and set it on the proper trajectory as a result of video games are what sells {hardware}. And we want extra video games. We want extra excessive caliber video games, like Asgard’s Wrath 2. So for everyone that is a designer, producer, engineer, wherever, thanks a lot for all of your onerous work on each recreation that was proven tonight. You guys are superior.”
Andy Beaudoin
Recreation director for Forza Motorsport, winner of Racing Recreation of the Yr
“As video games have gotten extra advanced, they’ve gotten greater, we’re including an increasing number of worth to gamers. If you consider what you spend in the present day for a recreation versus what you probably did…I am sort of outdated, sorry to let you know, however again in the day, it was 50 bucks, 60 bucks for a recreation, and also you possibly performed it for eight hours. Now we’re offering video games which have a whole lot of hours. And to do this, the dimension of the crew has grown, the quantity of expertise we have dropped at the crew has grown, the complexity of the worlds, the complexity of all that. And we’re nonetheless providing unbelievable worth for the cash.
“I feel the problem can be to proceed so as to add worth, to enlarge worlds, extra immersive worlds that gamers can spend an increasing number of time in and nonetheless present it at a price that is inexpensive for folks. There is a problem there. We see a number of studios shedding groups. It is horrible to see that occur. We have got to determine a solution to make our video games in a approach that is sustainable so we do not have to let go of groups, however we are able to nonetheless present a whole lot of hours of great leisure for our gamers.”
Sam Lake
Inventive director at Treatment Leisure on Alan Wake 2, winner of Excellent Achievement in Artwork Route
“It has been fairly a 12 months, like final 12 months, right here we’re celebrating and clearly so many great video games, however clearly a whole lot of hardship and dangerous information for thus many gifted folks working in video games. So yeah, actually, actually from the backside of my coronary heart, hoping that as many individuals as potential discover new houses and may preserve making nice video games.”
Karen Learn
Director of audio administration on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, winner of Excellent Achievement in Audio Design
“Oh, there’s a whole lot of challenges going through us, proper? And I imply, we have all seen how the business has had a whole lot of layoffs and a whole lot of monetary cutbacks, so it is difficult. It is difficult conserving folks collectively and inventive and motivated when everyone appears like there’s this darkish storm coming. Nevertheless it’s in that inventive area that we’re actually in a position to do issues, proper? After we focus on the video games and we focus on the issues that we love, I feel once we come collectively as a group, that is actually how we deal with it.”
Jerry Berlongieri
Senior audio director on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, winner of Excellent Achievement in Audio Design
“Video games are all the time a problem. I have been doing this for 30 years and it is all the time a problem. There’s new know-how, there’s new genres to determine, and that is a part of what’s thrilling, I feel, is we reset, we determine do it in a different way, do it with new know-how. And it is, as a subject, form of embracing the change and determining how we might be inventive with it, how will we work with it? That is all the time sort of been… Video games are difficult in that approach and I feel that is additionally what’s thrilling about it. In order that’s recreation dev, proper?”
Michael Douse
Director of publishing, Larian Studios for Baldur’s Gate 3, winner of Recreation of the Yr
“Cease f**king firing my pals. Jesus Christ…I imply, everyone seems to be speaking about how the guidelines are altering. We’re in flux. No person actually is aware of anymore what to make, get it funded, if it may work, if they are going to meet their projections, what these projections must be… With out that predictability, you may’t plan. And that is an business that sometimes requires a specific amount of planning. And I do know everybody has plans, however that is very totally different to planning for what the future is. We do not know what the future is. So the largest problem is determining what the fuck everybody goes to do. And that is going to take a mixed effort. And actually it’s going to be hindsight 2020. If it is good, it’s going to work. If it is not, it will not.”
“However I feel for me, the most vital factor is to determine make all of it sustainable. As a result of our errors will create victims. And attempting to cut back that as a lot as potential, I feel, will finally be what makes this business proceed to achieve success. We want folks to have the ability to be employed to make the video games that individuals like. And that is going to be robust. It is robust now. It all the time was robust and it may get harder. In order that’s the largest problem. How will we preserve everybody f**king employed? Which I feel is a problem for everybody proper now, however that is our business.”
Awards from Award Winners
As a bonus query, we additionally requested everybody we spoke to backstage: in case you may give an award to another recreation for any cause, what award would they provide to what recreation? That is what they got here up with:
- Scott Hanau – Dave the Diver – Most Fulfilling Fishing Fantasy
- Rod Fergusson – The NHL franchise “for persevering with to disappoint me by not permitting me to play the playoffs in co-op.”
- James Ham, affiliate animation director at Insomniac – Kingdom Hearts 2 – Most Heartfelt Recreation
- Erwin Kho, artwork director for Cocoon – Most Superb However Forgotten Recreation – Fragile Allegiance
- Jakob Schmid, audio director and programmer, Cocoon – Finest HR Giger Adaptation – R-Kind
- Tim Garbos – WarioWare – Most Inspirational Recreation for Being Okay Being Wacky
- Ben McCaw, studio narrative director at Guerilla Video games – Mass Impact Trilogy – Award for Pinnacle of Storytelling and Cinematics
- David Walgrave – The Coolest Arithmetic Award – Turrican
- “I am very a lot in love with the approach that individuals labored with techniques and computer systems 10, 20, 30 years in the past. If you happen to’re questioning fairly often, why did Larian do it like that or how did they do it? We nonetheless use a whole lot of the techniques and systemics that they utilized in the eighties and the nineties to make stuff run.”
- Mike Fitzgerald – Tetris – Finest Multiplayer Recreation
- “I’ve very fond recollections of being in the backseat of a automotive subsequent to my brother with our Recreation Boy Pockets plugged into one another, taking part in Tetris towards one another, clearing strains.”
- Jeannette Lee, venture director for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Bryan Intihar each wished to award video games for “Finest Sound Impact that Embeds in Your Mind and You Can’t Get Rid Of”. Lee offers the award to the Sonic the Hedgehog ring assortment sound, and Intihar offers it to the Zelda “secret discovered!” sound.
- Ramone Russell – The Final of Us – Finest Storytelling
- “The Final of Us actually confirmed the total world and the leisure business that video video games usually are not only a play factor. It is not only a participatory medium, it is a medium that may inform tales. And one in all the issues we did this 12 months is admittedly constructed off of the again of that’s that it isn’t simply interactive. You possibly can inform actually impactful emotional tales on this medium, and you may also educate on this medium too.”
- Andy Beaudoin – Alan Wake 2 – Biggest Ardour Undertaking Ever
- “I labored with these guys again in the days on Quantum Break, and simply that crew has been so keen about storytelling and so constant for thus lengthy.”
- Mike Grodin, director of engineering, Motorsport gameplay at Flip 10 Studios – Hello-Fi Rush – Most Inventive Concept
- “We have been sitting subsequent to them and I used to be simply in amazement that they created that recreation and the way distinctive that recreation was.”
- Michael Douse – BAFTA – The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow
- “As a result of it is fucking good and no person’s acknowledging that reality. Do we’ve got a spare BAFTA?”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Obtained a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.