The Games Industry in 2024: Obstacles Facing Indie Developers.

“Everything is burning right now,” says indie developer Adam Riches.

This is not a controversial theory, and Adam is almost comfortable when he says it.

A fact of life these days.

The widespread layoffs and studio shutdowns that rocked the industry last year have continued into 2024, and the investment rush has slowed on the back of the Covid-19 gaming boom.

There’s also evidence that people are spending less money on new games, choosing to stick with long-running online games like Fortnite or annual franchises including Call of Duty and EA Sports FC. are

Despite this, more games are being released than ever before.

of Great Britain The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association said in July The game’s sales fell sharply compared to the same period last year.

This has not only affected premium releases – smaller studios, whose games tend to be more affordable, have also struggled to find an audience.

It’s often hard to pinpoint why, but quality doesn’t guarantee success.

“You can have the best marketing, you can have the best game, you can get rave reviews, but you’re still flipping a coin to see if it’s going to blow up,” Adam says. say

He feels “discovery” — getting players to actually find your game — is one of the biggest challenges for indie developers.

Steam, the main marketplace for PC gamers run by developer Valve, sells everything from games made in someone’s bedroom to big-budget blockbusters created by teams of hundreds.

There is a lot of competition.

According to the tracker SteamDBWith more than 14,000 games published on the platform this year, 2024 has already surpassed 2023’s tally.

Adam added another to the total. He has released the murder-mystery adventure Locomotive – a game he has been developing with his brother for the past three years.

He jokes that the best time to get the game out was 2013 – when Steam wasn’t as crowded.

There are still ways to stand out – the platform recommends games based on users’ playing habits and regularly runs promotions that push a curated selection of games on homepages.

But Adam admits it’s difficult.

“We’re all competing for the same slots, and now we’re competing with Triple-A and other indies,” says Adam.

Along with fighting for player attention, new games are increasingly fighting for their time.

Annual series like Call of Duty and online titles like Fortnite took up 92% of gaming time, leaving just 8% for new releases, according to analytics firm Newzoo.

Keeping players away from these established titles is extremely difficult.

The failure of Sony’s online shooter Concord – which was killed off by the PlayStation maker. Just two weeks after release – Its similarity with popular titles already in the market is kept down.

Rhys Elliott, an analyst at Midia Research, says 2024’s big success stories – Ballero, multiplayer shooter Helldivers II and “Pokémon with guns” Palworld – did something new and exciting.

But he admits it’s not the only ingredient.

“Factors like a strong IP, a strong marketing campaign, community development and timing can help, but the reality is that it’s not the same,” he says. Luck is involved.”

“Right place, right time is a big part of amazing gaming achievements.

“But gameplay matters, and innovation, so great games often stand out and find their own market.”

Another big issue for developers this year is finding funding.

Investment in new projects has slowed, causing some studios to fall back on previous indie hits to fill the gap.

For example, Among Us publisher Innersloth recently launched Outersloth – a fund that helps developers advance their projects.

Hussain Siddiqui was among the first group selected by the program for their upcoming game Rogue Eclipse.

He says Innersluth “understands the struggle” developers go through, and their support has been invaluable.

But, even with the backing of an established studio, Husban isn’t taking the success for granted.

“It’s inexcusable, the speed at which things change, technology changes, platforms change,” he says.

“I always feel like we’re trying to study as early as possible before there’s a paradigm shift of whatever the conventional thinking was.”

Manor Lords – A strategy game that puts players in charge of building a medieval settlement.

It has sold 4.5 million copies since its early access release in April.

Snow Rowe, co-founder of publisher Hooded Horse, credits the game’s success to the genre by allowing players to live and roam the settlements they create.

Manor Lords generated a lot of pre-release interest based on early trailers, but Snow admits that the hooded horse was still surprised by its reception.

“It would almost be arrogant not to be surprised by how successful it turned out to be,” she says.

Snow says the best advice he ever received was “don’t go too fast” once you find success.

Some of the industry’s wider woes have been blamed on companies expanding too quickly when gaming profits soared during the pandemic.

Snow says it’s more important for him to be sustainable for the long term, and to be realistic with his expectations.

“A breakout hit like that, you can’t count on it repeating itself year after year,” she says.

“There will be people who will force you to have different expectations or treat the next year as a failure if the breakout hit doesn’t repeat itself but that’s not the case.

“So it’s a matter of setting your expectations and focusing on who you are.”

Everyone wants to publish the next Manor Lords or the next Balatro, but Adam says that “success” involves blockbuster-level sales for an indie. It doesn’t happen.

“Our game doesn’t cost that much to make, and since it’s mostly me and my brother and a few freelancers, the cost isn’t that high,” he says.

And, Adam says, it’s about doing what you can to give your game the best possible chance – Locomotive’s big marketing push was launched closer to release to keep the momentum going.

It may have paid off, as the game debuted on Steam’s best-selling charts.

The chances of making a breakout hit, or even breaking out at all, are slim.

But if there’s a silver lining, Snow says, it’s that development tools are becoming more accessible and with “intelligent” ideas. Opening doors for smaller teams.

“As a fan of the games, that’s something I would love to see,” she says.

“Even in the current environment, there is still plenty of room for fresh and innovative ideas.

“And that’s something I look forward to for many years to come.”

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