Secondly, when redundancies loom over a business it’s often the marketing and PR folks that tend to be some of the first to go. In every industry, PR and comms can be seen as a luxury. It is incredibly frustrating, and it does tend to mean that when costs have to be cut, those promoting the game or product seem to suffer. The industry having fewer PR and comms professionals leads to less opportunity for games to be promoted effectively, which is sure to have a direct impact on revenue in the long run.
Rana Rahman: On the B2B PR side of the games industry, things seem to be relatively more stable. For example, in the startup world from early seed to series C, it’s not uncommon for these firms to not have comms talent at this stage, which means there’s room for specialist agencies to fulfil vital roles to help shape messaging, reaching developers and publishers, or institutional investors.
Mike Hendrixen: Amidst the difficult circumstances, there are also opportunities
Q.
We’ve seen some great games released over the last year or so, but the sales numbers don’t appear to line up with the acclaim. Have there been too many good games? What’s going on?
Anita Wong: There are some brilliant games, but we also have to remember that we’re in a cost of living crisis - and as of last week, a recession. Great games cost money to make, but equally consumers are having to be more choosy about what they spend their money on.
Suzanne Panter: Gamers are savvier now and know that a game will be reduced in price relatively quickly, or it may appear on one of the cloud streaming services meaning they can access the games they want for a significantly smaller price.
Mike Hendrixen: Plus, there’s the fact that gaming isn’t the only form of entertainment out there. Concerts, vacations, and other activities are becoming pricier, so some gamers might be spreading their entertainment and leisure budget across different experiences. And let’s not forget, games themselves are getting more expensive too!
Chris Glover: The biggest shift right now is the change in player habits and the variety of game
that emerge, particularly for local agencies like ours. The restructuring of teams and resources often opens up avenues for smaller, more agile firms to step in and provide specialised support and expertise. Because the work in PR and communications still needs to be done.
Ravi Vijh: Marketing departments will have to think in a more holistic and tactical way. Teams had been built up to focus on individual specialism from marketing to PR and influencer to social. With smaller teams, staff will have to adapt to a more generalist brief, with a greater focus on returning ROI for every campaign which has the added benefit of more ‘joined up’ thinking. I expect to see an increase in the number of agencies or consultancies in the market. While companies have cut their workforce, the output required to launch successful products remains. Agency skills and expertise will be relied upon more than ever and with some many talented people looking for work, and very few vacancies, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see a few new names in this panel next year.
experiences available. Live service games, higher costs of traditional AAA releases, low-price breakout hits and the adoption of subscription services is creating a landscape unlike anything we’ve seen before. For us in the comms world, it’s all about maximising opportunities to reach the right audiences in a way that’s going to make them sit up and take notice.
Stefano Petrullo: Discoverability and too many AAA games was the perfect storm that hit the industry. There is too much content and a market that cannot sustain all of this in 2023. We work on all ranges of product from small solo developers indie to AAA and it is evident that something has to change to make sure everyone gets enough visibility. What I mean by that is that we need more initiatives that are less targeted generally to “gamers” but more to a particular segment of the audience. Niche games are not necessarily small.
Ravi Vijh: According to SteamDB, more than 14,000 games were launched on Steam in 2023, it’s not just too many good games, it’s
“14,000 games were launched on Steam in 2023, it’s not just too many good games, it’s
too many games full stop” Ravi Vijh, Bastion
18 | MCV/DEVELOP February/March 2024
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