Were there any notable contrasts, such as the bleak midwinter vs. the more optimistic summer, before near-lockdown kicked in again before Christmas? As a company, we are driven by product success directly linked to quality, release window and timely distribution to the customer. We started to notice that some games expected to do well at retail struggled to gain traction, whereas other titles, normally confined more to the indie game space, made a noticeable shift into the more AAA release space. This was driven by the publishers’ ability to start the QA process prior to global restrictions and lockdown but then focus attention on more rigorous testing during this period, and ahead of launch, when development teams tend to struggle. Having more QA resources working remotely seemed to provide better results for smaller indie developers when launching their games.
Covid has affected many businesses over the last few months, positively and negatively - what effects have felt particular to Green Man Gaming? The negative aspects of lockdown for GMG were very similar to other companies. We were very aware that some of the team lived on their own and had to deal with the challenges of lockdown and isolation without family or friends around them. We addressed this as best we could from a mental health perspective, putting in place company wide mental health first aiders, a 24 hour helpline for staff to call and encouraging regular communication at all levels. On a positive note, the lockdown allowed
some of the Green Man Gaming team to engage more with family, ultimately resulting in a more productive work/life balance.
It’s five years since Game Pass debuted and it’s notable that Amazon has started handing out bigger and bigger games in recent months as part of Twitch/Prime. How has the inexorable rise of PC subscription services challenged the business, if at all? The digital video games market is a $53bn industry (console and PC) and which offers more
February 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 53
than enough opportunity for differing business models and company types, from AAA publishers to plucky little indie studios with amazing IP. Trying to corner the market with one business
model might make sense on a boardroom whiteboard, but in reality would be like playing “whack-a-mole” in the market. Saying that, clearly we can see massive consolidation happening around the AAA titles. Subscription models rely on a constant stream of core content to prevent consumer churn, and offset the cost of acquisition. Studios are under an enormous amount of pressure to deliver against milestone schedules, and balance pre-launch dev investment vs. recoup. The financing of “episodic” development is not for the faint hearted - particularly amongst the AAA’s, some of whom are seeing seasonal decline. In addition there is evidence of subscription fatigue. Deloitte published an excellent study last year that highlighted consumer frustration with fragmentation and price sensitivity as core drivers.
Released in November, Kainga: Seeds of Civilization offers a compelling twist on the common city builder
Model Builder does exactly what it says on the tin
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