AAA is fundamentally broken
AAA game development is suffering from terminal bloat. There are too many chefs in the kitchen, creating an environment where it's impossible to actually get things done. Combine that with insane management practices and baffling organizational structures, and the games industry has naturally become a miserable place to work.
The standard industry 'solution' to every problem is to just hire more people. The assumption is that more headcount = more efficiency and creativity. But the results have been anything but that: delay after delay, with games becoming less ambitious and entirely soulless.
That is exactly why Speed Run Interactive exists. We believe that a lean, fiercely passionate team can build an incredible game in under a year. How? By eliminating the bloat. No endless context switching, no pointless meetings, and no waiting on pull request reviews from 50 different people.
Our developers are intimately connected to the projects they work on. They have direct influence over the game, which keeps them engaged and passionate about what they do. It's a win-win-win: better for the business because less money is needed to turn a profit; better for the developers because the business doesn't need the game to make $100m to break even, allowing for more creative freedom; and ultimately, better for the players, who get unique games that actually cater to their interests instead of general, mediocre slop designed for everyone and no one.
I have watched too many studios bloat themselves into oblivion, only to release mediocre games that try to cater to everyone out of the necessity of needing massive returns to be profitable. The industry is failing to identify that the bloat is the problem. Speed Run Interactive stands as a proof of concept for the future of game development: lean teams of passionate people making games that players actually want to play.
- Charlie