Owen Mahoney, who was responsible for the acquisition of Embark Studios, the creators of ARC Raiders, warns of the inevitable end of the AAA industry.
In a conversation with The Game Business, the former head of Nexon speaks harshly:
The AAA project industry is structurally coming to an end. Without a serious restructuring of the way games are created, we are in for an even bigger disaster.
Mahoney points to the main problem: the heads of companies worth billions of dollars are afraid of risk, preferring proven solutions instead of innovation.
When you run a $23 billion company and approve a project, and it fails, you have to explain to the board of directors why you burned $300 million. You only have the right to one mistake.
According to him, such caution leads to failures, because players need something new. He cites Minecraft and Clash Royale as examples, which have achieved success and shattered the established ideas of the industry.
As the head of Nexon, he decided to acquire Embark in 2021, against the position of investors, sensing the potential of the team of former Battlefield creators. ARC Raiders achieved success thanks to Mahoney's support, although the game was released after he left the company.
Developers have to choose between independent work with financial risks and the "factory" of large AAA studios.
The industry is in terrible shape. We are witnessing its inevitable decline.
