Is the games industry losing its creative ambition?

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you all for the lovely response on this so far, I’m a little overwhelmed! Gunna be cheeky and ask anyone to follow me over on Twitch if you so desire! I stream once a week ish, and it’s a nice community: twitch.tv/jakeitup

[@SwatterKFP]

Can highly recommend the streams, always a delight to watch and I aim to never miss it!

[@uria3679]

This toxic praise is only going to buff the ego of indie developers to the point where they make the same mistakes as Triple A developers, in fact it has already happened with Slipgate Ironworks

[@austinsager912]

This year has convinced me that we’re entering a new era of indie domination. The most discussed and most beloved hits this year have been small team projects like Helldivers 2, Palworld, Hades 2 and Animal Well. Hopefully the continuous failures of AAA companies both in their big budget releases and their handling of indie companies will make new devs think twice before selling their souls.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I agree! Indies have been so strong for years, but alongside failings of AAA they just keep getting stronger! Seeing an indie like Palworld completely saturate both seasoned and casual game markets alike is crazy to see!

[@JustaHollowKnightFan-xq9js]

If only silksong released

[@yuichikita6018]

Agreed. Just when my hope for AAA games was restored a little, with games such as HiFi Rush, it quickly came crashing down when Xbox decided to close down tango and other studios without an apparent reason.

[@Jake_It_Up]

@@JustaHollowKnightFan-xq9js the world will never be the same once Silksong releases

[@l1ghtd3m0n3]

Helldivers 2 is AA. It’s published by Sony.

[@rinarina6247]

I love how “game development should be run ethically” went from a fringe opinion among gamers to basically becoming the discourse. Goes to show a little empathy can go a long way.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I suppose people are seeing through the bullshit more and are just getting fed up!

[@rinarina6247]

@@Jake_It_Upindeed!! It is much appreciated

[@geremysorlinigiguere9535]

It only makes sense that you wanna be nice to the goose when you have a golden goose. People are turning around to the obvious realization that wanting to turnt he goose into ''Foie gras'' is absolutely insane.

[@rinarina6247]

@@geremysorlinigiguere9535👊🏼

[@orrissonpereira1070]

I think it applies to all entertainment industries. Movies and video games have created terrible "artistic" abominations because they "followed the money".

[@DillonMeyer]

It isn't that the games industry is losing creative ambition. It's that they're losing creative freedom. A lot of the times game designers are unable to express their creative visions effectively, especially when they reach out to wealthy groups to help them be financially stable and be able to afford the expense of spending years of their life and years of their team's life for making a game. When they do get these deals to have a publisher, or other larger corporate entity over top of them, they're no longer at liberty to fully make their creative design their own anymore. It's why Indie games come out just 'better' these days. They're unaltered products, true to the original creative idea of the designer, and not modified to fit some ruleset or message that someone funding them has. Crowdfunding services allow developers to have full control of their product while still getting desirable funding to make their game. The community that pays them may have a say, but the community can't directly stop the developers from doing what they want, while a "Boss" can.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely agree, Hopefully indies and smaller studios can find a more sustainable alternative to corporate ownership moving forward.

[@TheAbyssalStorm]

This is why when I start designing my own games I will never sell my soul to a larger company. I am not going to let the story I have been working on for the past year be restrained by a higher up who just wants the green papers.

[@clovernacknime6984]

All true, but I'd add that even the biggest crowsourced games are pretty low budget and thus small compared to AAA standards, with the notable exception of Star Citizen. Because they are small they have a relatively low need for project management. As the scope grows project management becomes a full-time job, which risks either a de facto bureaucratic coup or a situation like SC where the project is in a perpetual near-unplayable alpha stage due to uncontrolled feature creep. Basically, transitioning from a small indie studio to mid-size one without losing your way is hard, and growing to AAA size is near impossible. Not entirely, like Larian showed, but hard. You can't run a business without businessmen, and you can't expect an average businessman to care about your creative vision, so pretty much your only option is to learn both crafts yourself. And this isn't limited to games, just look at what happened to Boeing.

[@MrLordLowbob]

also a lot of the smaller indie game studios actually work with the community nowadays, with own discord servers which allows better communication with the players even in early access, allowing to get rid of unfun stuff or picking up some cool feature ideas that weren't thought about before if the developer so wants to

[@Ralathar44]

Survivorship bias. You only remember the 1% of indie games that succeed and become popular, not the 99% that fail or have modest success at best. And the end result of every indie company is to shut down or to eventually grow to the point they become the AAA companies you're critical of today. EA, Bioware, Ubisoft, Activision, Blizzard, etc were all once scrappy indie companies who did exactly the things you're talking about. But you cant stay that forever. The situation you're in changes, people reitre or move on or die. Management changes. Etc. The only consistent is change. Both for the better and for the worst both. And as old indies lose their edge OR become more mass market (which is fine, its just a different demographic they serve) new indies will rise up to take their place. This is the cycle that keeps gaming fresh and serves EVERYONE, not just you or me or mass market. The games industry hasn't lost anything. It's only gained. It has more creative freedom today than ever before. Just gotta look in the right places.

[@M.A.R.S.]

The fact that Animal Well is as popular as Hades 2 AND THAT IT'S ENTIRELY MADE BY 1 GUY really does speak to how liberating the indie game market is. That's how it should be.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Animal Well is such an impressive feat from one person! Especially as Billy Basso (great name) made the engine and everything! Just a pure passion project through and through!

[@fatraccoongames7026]

as popular is probably not the right word, but it is pretty successful yes and impressive nonetheless. Hades II sold 10x more copies

[@SlegiarDryke]

​@@fatraccoongames7026to be fair, the fact that it is still so popular is a slap to the face of many naysayers. People swore up one side and down the other that Dunky was off his rocker branching into publishing, and now animal well is a smasher for its scale and style. Arguably i'd say this says more than just the triple failure market needs to keep their eyes and ears open. The indie community can't let themselves get too prideful.

[@Anergyne]

I wish all game developers a very unionize

[@sino_diogenes]

10 years ago maybe, but I'm worried that if it happened now studios would A: shut down and B: use AI to fill in the gaps

[@sovietunion7643]

unions have plenty of problems too. any organization without any accountability or balance of power will always stagnate, no matter where it starts from as those who want power will always find a way.

[@shilohreisz6243]

Any time I have heard news from AAA studios its how they are hurting developers and creatives. Stealing ideas, destroying projects that are beloved, and talking publicly and shamelessly about how they want more money. These past few years have made me so happy to see how people are giving the Indie studios I've loved for years, so much love. New Indie Renaissance,

[@Ralathar44]

The AAA today are the indies of yesteryear and the indies of today will oft be the AAA of tomorrow. Larian games is a good example, BG 3 was their official transition from indie to AAA. They had a bigger team working on that game than Starfield lol. But because of people's brand loyaly towards them and ignorance people still consider them indie or at most AA. CDPR went through that same journey not long back with the old witcher games being indie, TW 3 launching them into AAA, but people still trying to treat them as indie, and Cyberpunk making people suddenly decide they were AAA after all.

[@Ikanamable]

@@Ralathar44 Larian ARE indie. Being indie isn't about how much money you have or the scale of your studio, it's about your independence from a publisher. Larian are self published and also don't publish games from other studios they are therefore an indie studio by definition.

[@Ralathar44]

@@Ikanamable If self publishing makes you indie then Nintendo is indie because they self publish. Publishing has NOTHING to do with indie or not. It's a separate very different set of considerations both AAA an indies alike have to carefully weigh the pros and cons of.

[@Ikanamable]

​@@Ralathar44 Nintendo IS a publisher which has numerous studios working under it. And what do you think indie studios are independent from? The indie movement came to be specifically because the publishing system gave publishers creative hegemony over studios because they were the main source of capital for any project during the late 90s and 2000s. You didn't even read my comment correctly and yet you're spewing this uninformed garbage all over the entire comment section. Don't talk with this much confidence about things you obviously don't know about and have no actual contact with.

[@Ralathar44]

@@Ikanamable Type all you want, your definition doesn't even make any sense. Stardew Valley is one of the best examples of a indie game. It was published by Chucklefish. Later on publishing rights returned to ConcernedApe for many platforms. So under your definition neither a developer nor a game would be indie, but an individual platform release since Stardew was self published for some platforms/sales and puiblished by Chucklefish for most of the platforms/sales. Or is Stardew Valley somehow both an indie game and not an indie game at the same time? Maybe you should spend more time making sure your definition is logical and consistent, while spending less time insulting others. Colloquially people basically use the term indie to mean "small studios independent of big outside money". Meaning they don't have direct ties to a big AAA, they're not beholden to some board of directors, and they're able to be agile and creative and take more risks because of this. Usually with smaller scale, production value, and price and with the understanding that things will potentially be smaller and slightly less polished than normal because they don't have the $$$ or manpower to do many things. But its working within those limitations that helps them be creative. Indie games can be published by any size of publisher or self published.

[@chillinc5158]

The closure of tango gameworks and roll7 makes me actually cry my eyes out. So many EXTREMELY creative games that has been fundamentaly closed, is so fucking awfull i cant even describe.

[@Jake_It_Up]

It’s so sad! Hoping the devs are able to land on their feet and keep making great games!

[@ElectricianAl]

And Mimimi, creators of Desperado 3, shadow blade, and deaths gambit cursed crew games. Sucks because I just recently bought those games and they’re definitely unique in a world of copycats.

[@iamerror1699]

Don't know, don't care tbf.

[@chillinc5158]

@@iamerror1699 Matt booty?

[@sebastianschoefl]

@@iamerror1699then don‘t comment!

[@cloudy978]

Yeah indie games right now are like lowkey the best things you can get. The recently released another crab's treasure for example. Got it close to release and it feels just as good as a Triple A game when it comes to gameplay music writing (or rather what it should be because Trip A right now for the most part is...) and it was my favorite game of this year so far.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Hell yeah! I bought Another Crab’s Treasure on Steam to play it on deck but then Hades 2 and Animal Well came out so haven’t got round to it yet. Next on the list for sure!

[@victory8928]

Another crab’s treasure is quite good though I wished they utilised the platforming better cause the devs really hit the nail on the soul-like formula for their game it’s amazing in that regard though one can argue that one boss falls flat the final boss is a lovely one to end it on. Honestly felt like a love approach to a soul-like

[@melaniewilson1742]

It does kind of feel like indie games have been taking center stage more lately. I’ve noticed my usual retinue of go-to games used to be mostly AAA, but over the last few years has slowly been replaced by a combination of older games and indie titles.

[@54365100]

I find it fascinating that white collar workers in the US are so oblivious to the creation of cooperatives despite being explored and dumped time after time

[@Jake_It_Up]

people at the top have too much power to saturate any industry that looks to be forming co-ops or unionize, so any company looking to do the right thing gets wiped out. I'm in the UK so cant speak too much to it in the US, but that's what it feels like anyway.

[@tylerblue9691]

Spread this message! We need to build class consciousness.

[@kennys9644]

I find it fascinating that you actually think the creation of cooperatives is a solution to the economic situation in the United States.

[@54365100]

@@kennys9644 You just nailed how to say a lot but nothing of value at the same time. Impressive, much wow

[@tylerblue9691]

@@kennys9644 it doesn’t solve it you’re right, but co-ops and unions further educate class consciousness and get us closer to a United working class

[@pianissimo7121]

Congrats the algorithm caught you. For good reason too.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you!

[@Iteration456-8_codename_goblin]

Hades 2 is SOOO incredible in the time I’ve had with it Every one is hotter than ever and I can’t wait for Narcissisus to get his design finished Also yes the second boss is absolutely stunning but damn can it be overwhelming the first time you see them

[@Jake_It_Up]

I’m so excited to get deeper into it! It’s gripped me so much harder than the first, and I loved that game!

[@SalamiCellar]

Zues is underwhelming in my opinion otherwise I agree.

[@haekla4743]

the game is just a bit too easy and that's my main problem this why games like enter the gungeon will always be the best roguelike ever because it's incredibly hard and the no of creative variations and possibilities is almost endless with so many secrets

[@tacticaltrooper2206]

@@haekla4743 You are correct, tho i like to think that Hades and Hades 2 are more of story games than rogue-lites if that makes sense.

[@jeanjacques9365]

​@@haekla4743yeah i agree for the story part but with the difficulty levels like heat and darkness or whatever its called in this game you can get it to be difficult to a fun point.

[@LeakyOrifices]

Something I will add to the conversation, I dunno if anyone caught the iii initiative, but that seems to be a great platform moving indie games forward. I think people describe it like the E3 of indie games, and it's a very apt description. I hope it continues to shine a light on great upcoming indie games that deserve such recognition!

[@Caspenar]

Prey from the design perspective is an actual masterpiece. It's criminal that Arcane Austin was closed.

[@Jet-ij9zc]

Prey was 7 years ago and considering how redfall turned out it's safe to say that whoever was responsible for prey hasn't worked there for some time

[@Caspenar]

@@Jet-ij9zc I'm sure there's some truth to that but the studio was forced to make a game that was completely opposite to what their skillset was. If Larian was bought tomorrow and told to make a live service BG4 I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out badly. The only reason BG3 was so good was because the studio kept making essentialy the same game over and over improving on every try. Similar thing happened with CD Projekt and The Witcher etc. Still like you said 7 years is a long time so there must've been some stuff going on internally that we don't know about.

[@Moji55a]

It's up there with FNV, Dark Souls and Deus Ex, it's just a shame mainstream gamers don't care.

[@rowan3902]

It scares me for the future of good art when so many industries are effectively destroying any hope of new creators being mentored by existing successful creators, when those existing successful creators are being laid off/their studios closed. So many great games come from a lineage of other amazing games, but execs only care about Number Always Go Up profits.

[@Jake_It_Up]

It really is rough to be a creative in any industry. Layoffs, very few entry level opportunities, AI. Hopefully the “successful” artists can start creating better platforms for nurturing new talent, but only time will tell.

[@BasementMinions]

It is so exciting to see Indy studios thriving when these larger companies are tearing the industry apart. All these layoffs are going to throw talented developers out into the indie scene and I hope the fruits of that can develop new studios that have better creative intention at heart.

[@Jake_It_Up]

That would be a great outcome! If the indies have the capacity to expand with laid of devs, or if those devs are in a position to open their own studios etc.

[@cr4zyhand581]

As someone who's now only a year into the industry, this really resonates with me. I got my job because I'm passionate about games and allowing people's ideas to manifest on the screen. The more the megacorps hold of those smaller indie studios with novel ideas and ways of working the more they seem to squander any opportunity for the very things that make those studios brilliant.

[@valence7]

Shocked that you aren't a bigger channel. This is so good!

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much! This video has definitely helped kickstart the channel growth haha!

[@Wolf_Spark]

Hades 2 it's quite a masterpiece, it feels so familiar yet so different from Hades 1. I put 10 hours into it and i reached the final boss and even tho I didn't beat it, I still felt fulfilled. Like I wasn't disappointed or mad, I was just amazed of how good the journey was. I wished more games like this would come out and slap this toxic AAA industry and those people that keep buying them because the Graphics look realistic >.>. Like c'mon you don't need hyper realistic graphics to achieve a good game, just look at Hi Fi Rush, Hades and AnimalWell.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely agree, I think games that go for a more stylized look are far more interesting anyway, can generally run on weaker hardware because they're less focused on detail, AND age better! Its a win win win.

[@victory8928]

Best part there is more to explore and see after you beat the final boss, cause like hades the first kill starts the chain to endgame.

[@jjstarrprod]

Hi mate. Great video ! Nice bait to hook us in with Hades 2's success to follow it up with the overall state of the gaming industry. I'm working in the animation industry, and gotta tell you, things are not looking pink here neither. I've always felt the gaming and the VFX industries are the 2 that share the same amount of pain and disrespect as we do in general. You put it pretty clearly in words, and it's crazy to see that you don't have much subs or views. Guess it's your turn to have been blessed by the algorithm, now. Enjoy your run ! And cheers to a world where indie devs and animators can thrive once the big studios have tanked all their budgets into lifeless franchises that no one wants to pay 70-80$+DLC anymore.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I work in TV, feels similar over here as well. (Thought I think TV has all ways been a bit creatively bankrupt) hopefully everything can come out of this the other side better for everyone! I have my doubts but can always hope! Thank you as well!

[@jjstarrprod]

@@Jake_It_Up Well, I feel like everybody is being all doom and gloom with the entrance of generative AI and how it's going to massively disrupt (to not say destroy) the whole industry, but I try to see things a bit farther up in time : Sure, in the few coming years, everybody will feel like they have to adapt or die, and the market will be flooded by more or less watchable AI ... stuff (series, animations, games, movies, music, comics, novels, whatever...). And at first, the audience will gobble it up just for the novelty factor. Then, something interesting might happen. If you've got Netflix, you might be familiar with the browsing curse. The browsing curse is basically staying stuck on the homepage trying to peruse what you're gonna watch tonight... for 10 minutes... 20 minutes... only to call it quits after 30 minutes of indecision in front of the 3000 shows that are on the frontpage. With the flood of AI content, imagine that... times 1 million ! And in the million of content, only a dozen within will be somewhat watchable. My educated guess is that the audience will tire out of this REAL QUICK, and crave back for actual human made stories, and all the studios who have massively laid off their creative teams and heavily invested on AI hardware and software will feel the same heat they're feeling right now for cryptocurrencies, VR, or streaming platforms. AI is only the new shiny thing that promises mounts and marvels, but ultimately, will feel like an old emptied and deserted goldmine. Like all the other shiny things. It will keep the pockets of big studios dry for a while (just look at Paramount being in talks of being bought by Sony), and it's only a matter of time before some other big studios crumble down under all their bad investments decisions. And when they finally wake up and realize how deep they've got themselves in shit, they'll come crawling begging for the creatives they unceremoniously fired a few years ago... only to find that said creators are now thriving with their own little studios, with their own domesticated and self-tuned AI and don't need big studios budgets anymore. Accelerating even more the downfall of bigwigs like Disney, WB, and Sony, ushering a new age of content creation. But one can dream, can we ? Who's to know if creators will have the luxury to survive until said scenario happens... ?

[@Jake_It_Up]

Damn! This is basically a very well articulated telling of my exact thoughts about the generative AI situation! History of art does tell us that changes come, but creatives always adapt and overcome to have something better thereafter.

[@SplinterInYourEye]

This is the result of our modern economic system. The stock market is so focused on short term profit, rather than systemic stability.

[@Jake_It_Up]

And cares more for shareholders than the people generating that wealth in the first place.

[@sharp7j]

Its not. Stock market has existed for ages yet the recent layoffs are brand new in their complete and utter nonsensicalness. Its the studios themselves fault. They shouldn't have sold their financial existence to extremely stupid large companies. They gave away ownership, the number one mistake.

[@sebastianschoefl]

@@sharp7jstill the fault of the stock market. It demands infinite growth to satiate the people wanting to gain money in the now. Those stock and shareholders then demand that the company close off parts and fire individuals that stand in the way of their profit.

[@zitronekoma30]

@@sebastianschoefl The stock market works great for some things. Creative businesses just aren't meant to be publicly traded, it just doesnt work. But there's a solution: just don't let your studio get bought up by a publicly traded company. You can still be a huge successful company without the stock market playing any part, publisher need to go that route, then there's no more detached shareholders demanding the billionth hero shooter.

[@sebastianschoefl]

@@zitronekoma30 There is still a problem with that. If you are successful, then larger companies will try to buy you up regardless. If you say no to that, then they will start smear campaigns and make sure your customer base plummets until you have no other choice. The current market is stacked in favor of the ones on top, and they will squash any competition they can find.

[@VivBrodock]

"plays into range a bit more" me swinging a great axe around: .... yeah.... range

[@Jake_It_Up]

I mean, even the axe has pretty powerful range attacks!

[@juxyper]

put a hammer in ranged whirlwinds.... yeah... actually, range

[@OMGKITTENMEWMEW1]

Corporations are trying to take gaming into the "easy, repeatable, guaranteed" realm of gaming. They don't want new IPs, they don't want innovation or change. They want all gaming to be Call of Duty and they want new versions being sold at a premium every six months. Their goals are diametrically opposed to creative ventures. Growth mentality does not work for artistic expression, especially in video games.

[@21kaduku]

It’s important that we be aware of the conditions under which our games are made. It doesn’t necessarily ruin my experience to know that devs had to crunch to make something, but it definitely doesn’t feel good (looking at you Red Dead 2). In contrast, I love playing games made by studios that treat their devs well. When I talk about supergiant’s games I also always include that they’re a great studio for their workers. I’m excited to check out the rest of your content. I really enjoyed this video.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely, I think the Industry has got a bit better over the past few years due to general public backlash, but of course there will still be studios/publishers that try to push those boundaries. I definitely agree that when you know the devs have been allowed more time and decent working conditions there something subconscious that makes the game feel that little bit better! Thanks you so much, I really appreciate it!

[@hexmaniacciaran]

it's very much the Netflix effect in action - a diverse portfolio is floated with easy commercial successes to allow the platform to survive while it finances creative risks that may not succeed from a commercial perspective, but they’re art. Netflix has to an increasing extent abandoned that principle and shutters off interesting shows after 1 or 2 seasons, the games industry is committing the same thing, and I get it, game conglomerates exist within our society to make money, but for their scale, they can make money AND art.

[@scruffmutt]

As someone with a lot of friends in the industry, the current state of working for a studio makes me want to tear my hair out. In many ways I agree, indies are the future - it’s where we see new ideas and big stylistic swings - but I wish game devs who just want to work with a team on one thing and get dental coverage wouldn’t keep getting shafted like this

[@yeeyw]

I will never understand people who complained about how different HADES 2 combat was. ZAGREUS IS A WARRIOR HE IS STRONG PHYSICALLY and yall expect MELIONE WHO’S A MAGE TO HAVE THE SAME PHYSICAL FITNESS TO HIM??? for GODS SAKE HER DASH ALSO USE MAGIC

[@Jake_It_Up]

Exactly! It’s great how different the characters feel. Makes the games stand side by side rather than the sequel overtaking the first!

[@OakenTome]

I find fast-paced ranged combat generally jarring/awkward so I can understand the complaint. I imagine there's some overzealousness irritation as per usual but its a fine preference to have.

[@ashdean3474]

I felt this way, too, at first. But as I put in more hours and got used to the combat, I felt a lot more comfortable using all the Nocturnal Arms had to offer. It even helped me feel more confident using the bow in HADES, a weapon I often avoided. I know I'm just one person with this experience, but I have a hope this becomes the experience for more and more people.

[@jmcalcy69]

The 2nd Boss in Hades 2 is phenomenal. The songs for it is up on their YT channel

[@justindiaz91]

it is a rare thing that i watch a video on the internet and come away agreeing with everything that was said. Well done.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, I appreciate that!

[@ViktorTrifonov_]

Finished the vid and just clicked off and for a breif second i saw only 70 subs, man are u underrated ur video was so well structured and amazingly edited well done mate ill show it to some friends hope u get recognition and the views u need. Keep up the hard work mate

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much, that means a lot! Going to do my best to keep it consistent

[@jpope125]

Here’s a comment for the algorithm! Thanks for this thoughtful and important piece. I hope your channel thrives.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much! I hope so too!

[@tharrock337]

I love how mainstream this whole discussion is becoming. it used to be different, people used to not care because the next assassins creed, the next Need for Speed, next Fifa or Call of Duty would be a hit again, but I feel like we are reaching a point where the "too big to fail" IPs are so consistantly not the most fun games of the year that people are actually looking into the why. Of course it is a deep well and because at the very bottom of it is the same structure that underlies our whole society it is very hard to look at it, but at least we are having this discussion now. In my opinion the reason why we can't seem to get together to fight climate change or end stupid wars is actually connected to why AAA games kinda suck these days. Obviously this is not to say the failure of Anthem or whatever videogame sucked this year is of global importance, but I think that our profit driven society that is chasing perpetual growtth is the mechanism that produced both and while we can improve one or the other individually a lot real solutions would affect both in a way.

[@GnarledStaff]

Y’all. Lets try and call studios AA. Big difference between a team of dozens in a AA studio and a 3 person industry team.

[@tostxd9266]

The quality here is insane 🔥

[@thechris4374]

Amazing video! Your voice is just pulling me in the video, really fits for narrating

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much! I’ll keep doing it 😃

[@daltongalke8745]

The only way to preserve creativity as a driving force in the game development industry is for game developers to unionize. Standing together and fighting corporate greed through collective bargaining is the best way to preserve jobs and artistic integrity.

[@rhenn4621]

Great video! Really well structured; I like the narrative you've set up :)

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, appreciate that!

[@joeltheowl3299]

I'm glad everyone is having fun with Hades 2, ill get to it eventually. I was kinda disappointed when it got announced because not only was Hades, Supergiant's safest game but also the one that least needed a sequel. A Bastion or Transistor sequel would've been perfect but oh well, i know it's still gonna be good, i just miss the uncertain excitement of seeing a new Supergiant games project annouced

[@Jake_It_Up]

I do know what you mean, I remember having a ‘meh’ feeling when it was first announced, but playing swept that feeling away instantly.

[@comrademessy118]

I hope you have fun when you get to it! For early access it’s been a blast! The music is also amazing. I have a feeling they’ll skip doing a sequel for their next game though and come up with something new, fingers crossed for way in the future

[@kirin7945]

Great video, I think you have a real knack for creating these news like videos from the gaming industry plus the review segment of hades. :D

[@TheLyricalWrdsmth]

You pulled the words right out of my mouth. I'm done with corporate game management. They have no real respect for what they're doing. They act like these studios exist to serve their financial goals, when it should be the other way around.

[@IanMarbella]

Everyone is so hot in hades 2. That's why I bought it. Super giant knows how to cater to its audience.

[@Jake_It_Up]

They really do!

[@riofredericco7147]

dont know why utube recommended this to me but im glad i clicked it. nice one man, i got to hit that sub button 🍻

[@Jake_It_Up]

I appreciate you clicking!

[@tassiasmith]

I've played Super Giant's releases for over a decade now, and Hades was absolutely a culmination of all the different talents of a team that was able to stay together over those years. It really felt like all the strengths of the studio's developers came together and perfectly aligned with their vision for the game. Profits above all else is ultimately short sighted and short term because there are so many factors that can't be accounted for or tallied easily that are greatly beneficial and often key to the success of games. And yeah, I want to see more games with worse graphics, that are smaller in scope and pay their devs better.

[@connort3186]

It’s almost like being beholden to shareholders and people who don’t work but have money causes stress and rushed games.

[@dvillines26]

The issue is that companies aren't being run sustainably. Businesses are about maximizing quarterly shareholder profit in part, executives milking as much as they can and then moving elsewhere, and vulture capitalists strip-mining and liquidating whatever they can get away with. These games studios are not being closed because of anything they have done, or for logical business reasons. This is about the profit of individuals, at the expense of...well, everything else. The fact that it fucks over the company's development of new IPs is completely beside the point. They are NOT MAKING DECISIONS THAT ARE GOOD FOR THE COMPANY. that's not even their job. The people making these decisions don't play video games, and possibly don't even LIKE games. The same kind of people run Hollywood now and don't watch movies. It doesn't matter what the product is. it's about squeezing out value in the short term. It could be anything.

[@snowballeffect7812]

good shit, homie. subscribed. best of luck moving forward!

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@joshb3879]

Very good video my dude! Love how you looked back on xbox arcade, I had no idea about that. But I do remember constantly finding new fun smaller games to play with my mates back in the day on the 360. Sad to see how far the big X has fallen 😭

[@Jake_It_Up]

It was such a good service! I remembered after I had recorded this but Minecraft's original console release was also on xbox live Arcade! what a world.

[@AmericanDaughters4eva]

I'm really waking up to the reality of the human beings responsible for creating my favourite hobby, and I'm grateful for all the detail in this video. Most of my life I never even considered the credit and advocacy developers deserve, I just played the games, and rarely even stopped to wonder who'd built them. I'm incensed by my growing awareness of poor working conditions for developers and what must be a nervous atmosphere for studios under giant corporations. I watched a recent Supergiant office tour and thought to myself it's baffling that their model of person-centred working, no crunch, comfortable atmosphere and a small, friendly team is proven to have the capacity to produce games which are not just creatively abundant but ambitious and successful, yet bigger publishers and studios seem reluctant to replicate Supergiant's conditions in favour of creating the biggest games possible at the cost of their employees' wellbeing and, lately, livelihoods altogether. I'm 100% with you on your points here and we should all be really mad about the environment of the games industry.

[@EmyN]

Now this is a quality video if I ever seen one, subscribed

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much!

[@blackout0938]

This is one of the unique industries where Indi devs can compete on the same level as AAA with some effort and love put into their works. AAA has to pump out good games because if they don't provide then Indi will, and we are seeing the consequences of their failures live as Indi surpasses AAA games in sales.

[@Cuiasodo]

I'm curious to see if Microsoft's decision to shutter a bunch of studios will wind up shooting them in the foot in regards to acquiring new talent. I'd wager indie studios are less likely to sign contracts with big producers if they have a history of shutting down ones that they acquire, and since most indie studios aren't publicly traded, a contract that both parties agree to is the only way that I know a merger could or would happen.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I think with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox won’t be in the market for buying smaller studios going forward. Which I guess is a good thing for the future?

[@Bee_Mavrick]

Depends on if they were really coming up with the creative ips on their own. Cause if they didnt and was given the blueprints, its still on the studios to make the games unique. Sometimes when i do consulting my ideas are not always used. Sometimes they are not used at all. So i get to see studios fail sometimes. And all the time im not involved in the public success or collapse, if any

[@PandemoniumGameDev]

This is an unfortunate reality and the root of it is the fact that the decision makers don't understand the culture. I'm glad to see new indie successes pop out of nowhere but I believe that more independent creators should take charge, make good financial decisions and stop relying on corpos

[@Jake_It_Up]

Exactly! Games have become so profitable that businesses are getting taken over by money people more than people that understand games

[@DAAlegendTV]

No, the gaming industry is not losing it's creativity. It's just the AAA industry. The indie companies are doing just fine. In fact, i would argue it's better then ever.

[@LunauticalDev]

I've also noticed a trend for the past few years that a lot of these AAA games are just becoming more and more cash grabs. Majority of my time and money I spend are now towards smaller game studios that put more love and creative work into their games (such as Hades, Risk of Rain franchise, etc). I've been put off from buying and playing games that just throw a live-service system into it, because there just isn't any sense for me into doing it (Diablo 4, Payday 3, recent CODs [which all to me now seems like copy and pastes of the previous one and minimal effort put in]). I currently have a lot of games I'm looking forward to this year, and funnily enough, not a single one of them are massive AAA studios. Streets of Rogue 2 (made by a few people), Darkest Dungeon 2, Slay the Spire 2, and much more, just naming a few. Recently, studios have come together to creative the Triple-i Initiative (iii) where they livestream featuring upcoming indie games and massive content update for them. Definitely worth taking a look into if you're interested.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Oh yeah, I remember the triple I initiative did a showcase recently? I never checked it out, I’ll do that!

[@madnessarcade7447]

8:34 I think Nintendo did more for indie gaming than anyone else hot take

[@geremysorlinigiguere9535]

To me, the main difference is how big companies with shareholders want to make a Product, whereas your small indies actually want to make an actual GAME. There's a big thing of how most of what you see is games they feel like they can easily market to the biggest common denominator (and also, explain to a shareholder who never played games) Animal Well among the great indie games that you mentionned is a perfect example of a game that is amazing but man I would never imagine a big company willing to spend tons of money advertising something that looks like that. It would seem completely alien to them.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely, there is very little risk in AAA, which i can understand from a business perspective but it is incredibly boring. exception of course with the likes of Kojima productions, Remedy etc. but even then they are also independent.

[@thenihilanth3382]

Let's not forget about Lethal Company, one of the most fun games you can experience with friends. Indie games in general are dominating the game industry this year, and rightfully so, for me it translates that the gamers in general are getting tired of AAA predatory systems (tho it should have happened a loooong time ago) and they just want to have fun, and Indie games are exactly just that, fun games

[@yashuastryfe125]

business bro overheads killing most industries tbh

[@Jake_It_Up]

Truly!

[@Newmansos]

Why would ceo's/upper management re-invest their profits in making their company better, when they can just take the profits, and say fuck the workers.

[@oliviarodrigo6777]

GREAT VIDEO! Took me until I left a like to realize you only have 100 subs. Great work keep it up. Well-edited and engaging.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you!! At the start of the day I had around 70 so definitely getting there! 😂

[@CY3ER]

1:54 anyobe else think that looks like the soul tonic from Hades 2? Maybe a small easter egg?

[@iaxacs3801]

Ive come to a point whenever i see a bad piece of entertainment my immediate reaction is that a business suit thought theyd add something to a project they had no right to interact with in any way but to give them money to make the game to sell

[@Jake_It_Up]

It is so often the case!

[@duckdialectics8810]

It is happening everywhere, from the arts to movie making and music, I think this phenomenon is way more general than just videogames

[@Jake_It_Up]

Oh for sure, similar points could be made in so many industries at the moment!

[@Auri-u6q]

less than 1k subs is criminal. This video was phenomenal!

[@Neoyoshi-FFXIV]

It's just... really frustrating to watch what's happening on the sidelines. Why isn't it there something we can all do about this? I mean... isn't there?

[@Jake_It_Up]

Going forward I think the most effective thing we can do is vote with our wallets.

[@TruePirateKing12]

Not that the Triple A scene is dead by any stretch but I am looking at the indie titles a lot more now. Seems like there's more creativity and passion there, whereas the big Triple A companies are just focused on SAFE games and predictable profit rather than taking a chance. Don't get me wrong they have taken a chance on games but they didn't give the studios the time, resources or leeway in order for that chance to be successful.

[@SwatterKFP]

Enjoyed listening to your insights on this topic. It's a sad time to see so many amazing games and creative minds coming out recently but the reward for doing so is to stop them in their tracks. Hopefully things will get better and big game companies stop shooting themselves in the foot and focus on games being fun rather than a quick buck

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, lad! Yeeah it’s rough, but the indie games industry is consistently great so hopefully it can stay nice and strong going forward!

[@humblemudgames]

Congratulations getting in on that algorithmic wave. You deserve more subscribers, and I I know you'll get there. Great stuff, just subbed. 🤝 Hopefully I'll catch one of these waves one day too. I hope it keeps pushing you out further!!

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you so much! I’m of course not really in any position to give advice, but I just checked out your videos and they’re really good! With this video I found it wasn’t doing great in the first couple hours, so I changed the title and thumbnail to something more specific and intriguing, and it popped off! It’s always worth experimenting with that sort of stuff, and being a bit brash with title ideas. You’ll get there, you have a great foundation of content for sure!

[@humblemudgames]

@@Jake_It_Up Thank you so much, that means a whole lot! And this advice is great, I'll for sure try this!

[@javierinDeutschland4155]

Great video, commenting for the algorithm to push this.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, appreciate it!!

[@gamesnstuff657]

I don't buy AAA titles until a year or two after it's release. I think RDR2 and Call of Duty Modern warfare were the only two I have bought in years. The rest have been indie games. They don't treat their players like cattle of money, and many of them are trying and doing new and interesting things with video games. I hear about these AAA games from people and usually I just shrug my shoulders and keep playing Hades or FTL or Tunic etc.

[@peach_plsx]

Nice work, Jake!!!

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, Peach!!

[@natalimoina]

Yeah indies have always been the way to go. I only own a few AAA titles and they're only good at best while still carrying many flaws and a lack of passion, whereas of my large catalogue of indies, the titles are really only good at worst and are often just masterpieces with tons of passion put in them and fantastic game design. Devs are more open and willing to help and make changes too, and they are better price on top of it all (most should be higher price tbh).

[@hinatau2]

Logan Cunningham is amazing lol

[@xterate3961]

feels like now more than ever im hearing the opinion of "gaming isnt fun anymore" said by people who have grown tired of what were once indie games turned into corporate cash cows, goes to show how important indie and aa games have become to the future of the industry and everyone needs to support them

[@Jake_It_Up]

definitely, you hear it a lot from people on the multiplayer FPS side of games, because they have been so rinse and repeat for years. But look jut slightly below the surface and the variety opens up so much!

[@JShortle]

Fantastic as always Jake!

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you, Bobby!

[@nickhames7150]

You have some fantastic editing for only 600 subscribers, may the algorithm gods be kind to you

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you! They seem to have been kind with this one!

[@kelly4187]

This isn't just games, but all industry. The problem is the very concept of shareholders. A good company with a passion ends up becoming just another husk of a company the minute the are the hungry shareholders to feed, who demand constantly increasing dividends. Suddenly they are effectively extorted by the constant threat of them pulling their money out, in the same way as a mob might extort a small business. Then the top board structure, sometimes mandated by law, vote out anyone involved in the original team who might oppose the blind chase for profit. I'm no communist, I'm very much a capitalist, but the evidence is clear that we need to regulate shareholding so fucking much that it effectively doesn't exist. Have it where they cannot pull out their money for example... It is a "coupon only" investment to avoid the pressure being there, and remove them having a vote in the company. Better would be to just ban it outright, but that is impossible.

[@cjcris123]

The economy is not in a good spot currently and people have very little disposable income to spend on console games that are now $70. Indie games are reasonably priced with hella hours of gameplay.

[@Matok1]

Yeah, corporate greed is largely at fault for the state of things, but there's also a portion that belongs to the players. The huge shift toward highly monetized shovelware is due to it being profitable, and it is profitable because gamers spend on it. Deprive it of what gives it life, and it'll die off. But there's a lot of phycological trickery going on in modern games to get people to spend spend spend, and it is unfortunately very effective. Until a time comes when gamers get educated about this enough that they largely abstain from these types of games, this will continue to be the only kind of games that large corporations want to make, because at the very top level, the only thing they care about is extracting more money out of you. They're not your buddy, they don't care if you're having a good time. They care about how quickly they can get you to give them money.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I do agree that there is a bit of a burden on players to be a more more 'responsible consumer' I think It largely come down to where publishers push their marketing budgets. Especially when it comes to more 'Casual' gamers people play what they know. And that is more often than not where the egregious monetization also comes in, hence why Call of Duty continues to be so popular and one of the worst offenders for aggressive monetization. But yeah there is also a hell of a lot of gross things going on to influence people to keep coming back and spending money.

[@MrSneakSneak]

I have 2 amazing ideas for games but learning to program or code is so overwhelming 😢😢

[@Jake_It_Up]

I know the feeling! Tried a C# course a couple years ago, code is hard!

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

I still wish they made Bastion II, but it's nice that they've finally found their stride with Hades and the sequel.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I dream of a Bastion sequel!

[@derdiedaswasndas]

it doesnt matter where i go , i always find myself back at the commentary videos with hollow knight music in the background xd, nice video btw

[@Jake_It_Up]

it's great music! Thank you!

[@asdfasdas119]

great video! also can somebody tell what music is playing in the background at 6:02?

[@Jake_It_Up]

This was a Lo-Fi remix of Hollow knight OST, I cant quite identify which song specifically but I think it would be either Greenpath or Fungal Wastes! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZTXh3aCqLejjas

[@pinjimin7696]

Shout out to my girl Ashley Barrett. Amazing vocalist for Super Giant Games.

[@adamfarmer7665]

after I finished hades 2 I started hades 1 again, and I have to say, hades 2 is way more smooth with its animations and combat. So it improved upon hades 1 and made it better, which was already good.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely, while the structure is pretty similar, the improvement do make a world of difference.

[@Fridebuh]

The morale at the end could be applied to far more than video games... If only ! Nice video anyway :)

[@LeWelker83]

Hades 1 is already easily in my top 15 of all time.

[@Grnvolpe]

I only buy AAA games on 75% OFF sale or more. The publishers don't deserve our money and the amount of games on the average gamer's backlog makes it pointless to buy a AAA full price

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely, especially with the crazy price increase over the past couple years!

[@madnessarcade7447]

Nintendo has the most sustainable business model. Going lower-tech and lower-spec was the smart play. Nintendo is one of the only companies that realizes they make video games... not "technology". GAMES. Sony has completely lost this perspective, and I'm not sure that Microsoft ever had this perspective. Nintendo is the last REAL game maker around that happens to also make consoles. I think Nintendo has seen this coming for a long time. With age comes experience, and this company has seen many adversaries rise and fall. Nintendo saw their competitors promising better and better production to the point where there is no return on investment and only their frail fundamental IP to justify hardware. Now the third parties are fleeing and afraid of partnering. Nintendo have been playing the long game and it has paid off in spades. Nintendo thrives in limitations it allows for more creativity Sometimes too much freedom means no direction But within a limitation you can challenge yourself how to be flexible within it like a fun puzzle you experiment with PEOPLE NEED TO STOP GIVING A DAMN ABOUT GRAPHICS IF YOU WANT GOOD GRAPHICS WITH REALISTIC TEXTURES GO OUTSIDE AND HUG A TREE NINTENDO WAS SMART AND REALIZED WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS TOO SLOW TO Nintendo realised long ago that competing in graphics is pointless. No matter how powerful your console is, in a couple of years it is going to be obsolete, and anybody who really cares about graphics is going to buy a PC, because that is where the best graphics are. Instead, Nintendo focuses on their strengths: * Nintendo likes hardware gimmicks, because it makes their console stand out. Nobody bought a Wii because it had the prettiest graphics, they bought a Wii because they wanted to play with the motion controls (An idea so good both the “superior” PS3 and Xbox 360 tried to copy it). The same thing is happening with the Switch: people are buying it because they can play their games anywhere, and can move between a handheld and a home console. They like to focus on giving customers something that they cannot get anywhere else. * When Nintendo did try to compete on power, they didn’t do very well. The N64 and Gamecube were the most powerful consoles of their generations, but were both massively outsold by the “inferior” PS1 and PS2. The Wii was the weakest of its generation, but outsold the PS3 and Xbox 360. This proves Nintendo’s approach to console design clearly has something going for it. * Performance is expensive. Performance is even more expensive when you are using it in niche applications. If Nintendo wanted to have something as powerful as an Xbox One or PS4, while still being portable, then it would probably cost twice as much. This means that Nintendo would have to charge more for the console (probably not something the market could sustain) and/or eat a hefty loss on each console sold. Instead, by not focusing on performance, Nintendo make a profit on each console, and keep it at a price point where more people can afford it. * One of Nintendo’s biggest strengths is their first party titles, all of which rely on stylised graphics and strong art-style. It doesn’t matter that the console is not very powerful when Pokémon, Zelda, Mario (and its millions of spin offs), Smash Bros, Metroid and Donkey Kong are incredibly popular and all don’t care about high end graphics. Why make your console more expensive to make and develop for when you don’t even need it? * The companies that tend to focus on graphics are third party developers, such as EA, Activision, and Rockstar. If the console sells well (like the Switch currently is), then those developers will find a way to bring their games to it or, failing that, make unique games that work best on the hardware. * By not competing with the other consoles, or PCs, in terms of power, while offering unique gaming experiences, Nintendo has comfortably found a niche as an optional second system. If you have a PC, PS4 or Xbox One you have very little reason to buy one of the others, because they are all basically the same. Nintendo’s consoles offer things that none of the others offer, and thus can easily tempt people with another gaming device into purchasing it. * Nintendo has also found a strong market in all ages These people don’t care about graphics, so why waste money on giving them something that they don’t want? An families don’t care that the Switch doesn’t have the best looking games, they’re just happy that they can have fun Ever since the Wii era Nintendo has. Been trying to train us that power doesn’t matter Whimsy and imagination and creativity and memorable experiences are more important to them And y’all still aren’t getting it Move on from Power it don’t matter Nintendo doesn’t want it They think it’s boring They don’t care Official quote from iwata: "Even when we were going to launch the Wii system, there were a lot of voice saying 'Nintendo should stop making hardware'," Iwata recalled, talking to Gamasutra. "The reasoning behind that was Nintendo would not have any chance against Microsoft and Sony. The fact of the matter was: I did not think Nintendo should compete against these companies with the same message and same entertainment options for people. "We have not changed our strategy," he added. "In other words, we just do not care what kind of 'more beef' console Microsoft and Sony might produce in 2013. Our focus is on how we can make our new console different than [others]." The switch is faithful to iwata’s legacy .

[@aquamarinerose5405]

I think what really confuses me is just a sense of like... Why shut down the ones that actually MAKE profit? Like, Even the most cynical, capitalist part of my brain can't wrap my head around it. Like, putting on the CEO glasses... Like alright, Arkane screws up majorly with a project they really shouldn't have been put to in the first place, but we hypothetically "Need" a studio or two to cut and absorb into a larger project so yea, whatever. Same with Intercept and Kerbal 2's poor reception. But Tango? They've done nothing but smash hit after smash hit, with a fandom that would be devoted to keeping their eyes and ears out for literally anything they produce because they have public trust. There is literally no good reason to slash them. They're a powerhouse that even if they're not 343 levels of bighuge, they've got such loyalty that it's killing a golden goose. Like, the only possible thing I could think of would be to absorb their workers into a larger project, but then you could just have them work on your bigger project ANYWAY?

[@Jake_It_Up]

It is genuinely mind boggling. I hope someone does some sort of report or investigation on it so we can actually learn why these decisions were made beyond simply cost cutting.

[@vpmkhang]

great video man! Surprised you don't have more recognition

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you! Just starting again so not much content yet!

[@Jomads]

great video! really good points made, although i would like to note as a kerbal space program fan, shutting down kerbal space program 2 might be the right decision because of fundamental flaws in how they chose to make it as well as general incompetence, the kerbal space program community has actually seen a resurgence of activity after its shutdown

[@Jake_It_Up]

Thank you! Okay, that’s good to know. I’ll be honest I’m not super familiar with Kerbal Space Programme, so I tried not to linger on it too much. Sounds like a massive case of mismanagement of the IP on The part of take two! Great to hear of the resurgence in the original though

[@aguest5394]

does it have mouse click to move or is it still not accessible? Id love to play it just really need them to consider other play style for accessibility reasons.

[@ruggerprogavlar8866]

I have just starter playing this and wow its got me , but apart of me wants to stop because I don't want to be burnt out on it before the game is finished lol mainly bought it to support the developers.

[@Jake_It_Up]

I know what you mean! there is a crazy amount of content though, I think it could take a while

[@SalamiCellar]

Itll be a while before the game is finished, seems like there's a lot more to come

[@MutualAidIsLove]

I share the same Anti-Capitalist perspective on this topic. The game industry needs to unionize. Pushing towards co-opt businesses will give those workers the creative freedom.

[@Jake_It_Up]

Absolutely, fingers crossed this can happen moving forward!

[@squibbles_]

at this point, game publishing companies have lost any amount of respect or trust I had for them before. Heck, an example of this can be seen in Rain World, a phenomenal indie game and one of my favorites, personally. the devs, Videocult, can't seem to catch a break with their publishers, having started with Adult Swim Games, who they left due to a toxic relationship that limited the creative control and ownership they had over their _own game,_ and moved on to Akupara, who were fine for a while... until they tried partnering Rain World with a game recording software (think something like GeForce) which made use of AI art. It took backlash not only from the devs, but an overwhelming amount of the community, including the official discord server staff, for Akupara to pull out on that one. Anecdotes like this are all too common, and it's got me concerned for the future of the industry. Something needs to be done, and I feel like it does begin with more indie devs striving for independent publishing, like Supergiant has.

[@AdriBlt]

100% agreeing w everything you said. This is a shock for me to see those Xbox layoff, especially in the light of everything that they have done so far. Those past years, we have seen Phil Spencer announce acquisitions and supports of indie studios, and now this…? (I am still hoping for an erratum, but it won’t happen) As you mentioned, this is especially shocking in the light of those studios successes and on what Xbox is planning for the future… 😢

[@Jake_It_Up]

I know, so much hope and good will is just gone now.

[@blahblahgdp]

Ive always said, once you make one good game, the next one is more of that, with new toys and a couple of spins and you got gold. But theres a reason why indie ultimately stayed king. Once those triple A companies fully devolved into pure money machines, it was the beginning of the end. What was once trailblazers, helmed by passionate people thay fought hard for their ideals and ambitions, slowly the leaders changed and became replaced with business men.