Double Fine Head Called Gaming Company Top Managers "Greedy" and Admitted He Doesn't Understand How Gaming Companies Work
Tim Schafer is raising $50,000 for an actress who agreed to work with his studio for free.
Double Fine head Tim Schafer shared his thoughts on the current state of the gaming industry in an interview with BBC News and tried to explain why the last few years have been accompanied by mass layoffs. According to the developer, he long considered layoffs to be part of a cyclical process, but what has been happening in the last four years has made him doubt this explanation.
Schafer also spoke about Double Fine's departure from Xbox. According to him, the studio did not know that Microsoft was considering closing it, and only learned about it through rumors that appeared online.
We heard rumors, then it turned out the rumors were true, after which we decided to act independently, held negotiations — and now we are back out in the world on our own.
Discussing the industry situation as a whole, the developer admitted that he doesn't fully understand the economics of video game production. He used to think that layoffs and subsequent hiring were a natural cycle: companies would lay off people after projects were completed, and then rehire developers when new games needed to be created.
I always thought it would be a cycle of ups and downs, ups and downs. But it's been going down for about four years now, and I don't know why.
According to the head of Double Fine, what is happening seems especially strange given that people continue to play video games and companies make money from them.
People play games, people make money, so I don't understand why there's such a big job loss. I just assume someone somewhere is being greedy.
At the same time, Schafer hopes that the current downturn will still turn out to be part of another cycle and the industry will begin to recover in the future. He also drew attention to the active development of the independent segment, noting that there is a lot of life, energy, and creative ideas in indie games right now.
However, independent development also does not guarantee stability. Schafer emphasized that indie developers face the same risks, although the problem may manifest differently.
In indie games, there's no guarantee you won't be laid off, but there's a risk of running out of money. So there are risks in both cases.
According to Schafer, over the years in the industry, he has come to the conclusion that most people enter game development not for stability or a comfortable lifestyle. Many perceive game creation as something they simply must do.
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