SUPPOSED TO BE FUN?
Jana Beck, lead strategist at Waste Creative, reflects on the bravery of having some fun in challenging times
W
Jana Beck, lead strategist at Waste Creative
hen I saw that Larian (the studio behind Baldur’s Gate 3), had launched a Tumblr of all things, I couldn’t help but chuckle and tip
my hat to them. A few months later, Supercell nearly gave me whiplash with their platform of choice for their new title Boat Game … MySpace. Yes, MySpace! While launching on a seemingly outdated platform
could feel like a risky step backwards - maybe this return to playful risk-taking is just what gaming as a whole needs more of. There’s a larger trend playing out right now, epitomised
by the return of classic maps and OG game modes in giants like Fortnite and Overwatch. Sure, it’s about nostalgia - a tried and tested tactic to emotionally connect with fans (92% of consumers find nostalgic ads more relatable according to a recent study by EMB Global) - but it’s also about a simple home truth: These gaming throwbacks deliver a sense of simpler, more light-hearted fun that many players have been missing.
34 | MCV/DEVELOP June/July 2025
GAMING HAS BECOME TOO SERIOUS “There’s a lot of games these days that tend to take themselves a bit too seriously.” — Shinji Mikami, creator of Resident Evil If this quote rings true to you, it shouldn’t come as a
surprise. How could gaming not be serious business in 2025? Over 30,000 gaming professionals have lost their jobs since 2023, whole studios were forced to close, numerous games cancelled. When it feels like you could go from working your dream job to writing an epitaph about it on LinkedIn from one day to the other, well, you aren’t very likely to feel light and playful about it. But even in the face of adversity, we’re seeing a wave of
resilience and reinvention: Developers are embracing new funding models, smaller teams are proving they can create breakout hits, and studios are revisiting the fundamentals of what makes a game truly fun. Playfulness isn’t just a luxury—it’s becoming a survival strategy. Gaming revenues are serious business. But maybe
the best way to unlock them is to take games a little less seriously.
GAMES SHOULDN’T FEEL LIKE WORK It’s not just a sense of doom and gloom weighing down the industry - many games themselves feel heavy,
ISN’T THIS
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