summary
- Swen Vincke defends single-player games and emphasizes quality is key to success in the gaming industry.
- Many layoffs in the industry highlight the unpredictability of success, regardless of gaming performance.
- High-quality single-player games still stand in the market despite claiming that the genre is dying due to revenue concerns.
The director of Baldur’s Gate 3 took to social media to slam critics who claim the single-player game is dead. This is a quality that counts whether the medium has been successful or not.
The entire video game industry has been criticized over the past year due to the large number of layoffs in seemingly every studio. It doesn’t matter whether the game is a hit, meets expectations or is bombed brilliantly.
Naturally, this has led some experts to argue that single-player games are dying. This is part of not generating the same revenue as a live service game with a large crowd. Not everyone agrees with this rating, not particularly the creator of one of the biggest games of the decade.
Swen Vincke chimes in a single player game
In a post made on his Twitter/X account, Swen Vincke, founder of Larian Studios and Gate 3 director of Baldur, commented on criticism of the single-player genre, especially those who claim to be dying.
When you make the most acclaimed video game of all time, it’s easy to say that a game must be good, but it’s enough to support the claim that a game needs to be good for it to succeed. Both Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 plays were reviewed very well, but they performed poorly in terms of sales (although PlayStation Exclusivity didn’t help there).
Meanwhile, multiplayer games have fallen like fly for the past few years, with multifaceted obstacles and Concord unable to attract audiences. These were not terrible games. They were unable to attract a player base in an industry full of different experience choices.
Having a series of 10/10 reviews and fans rave about the game online certainly helps it over the long term, but it’s not limited to genres or numbers of people involved. No one can predict when a game will hit, and high-quality titles don’t always guarantee millions of sales.
