In honor of the Game Developers’ Conference happening this week, we wanted to focus this Ask PSLS on the studios who make all the games we all enjoy playing. So, we asked the PSLS staff: “Who is Your Favorite Developer?”
- PSLS
Former Naughty Dog artist Gabriel Betancourt explains why the "sweet spot" for game teams is under 200 people and how AAA "factories" kill creativity.
There’s definitely some truth to this. When teams get too large, coordination starts to outweigh creativity—layers of approval, risk aversion, and tight deadlines can turn bold ideas into “safe” ones. Keeping a team under ~200 people sounds ideal for maintaining clear communication and a shared vision. That said, massive AAA projects also come with huge technical demands and expectations, so scaling up isn’t always avoidable. The real challenge is figuring out how to keep that small-team creativity alive inside big studio structures.
More than that, it's logistically untenable. Inevitably, when teams get too large, how do you keep tabs on accountability? I suspect this massive team size is a consequence of the perfectionism streak Naughty Dog has.
I wish we could have so many people working on something and it turns out great because I'm all for collaboration in spirit - the problem is too many people as part of the larger team and smaller units. Suppose for example that you have too many people in the art department; you will very often come up against fiercely competing visions for how things should look. That competitive vision will cause friction between team members, team doesn't work as a unit, the back and forth can further delay parts that the other departments are waiting for, etc etc.
A 200-person team says, to me, that we need to scale back game development. Even if it means we go back to PS2 era costs and scale, why not? Those games are still great fun, the budgets were in check, and you could literally break the 200-man team into like 10 20-man teams working on different projects.
Kratos' original voice actor has explained how Sony approached him about returning to the role for the upcoming God of War Greek remake trilogy.
OG Kratos actor T.C. Carson told fans at @MegaConOrlando he was called back to play Kratos after "they realized they let me go prematurely" pic.twitter.com/fbSPuMFSN0
— IGN (@IGN) March 31, 2026
He was at my local game expo just this past December. During Q/A I asked him if he was interested in portraying Kratos again (this was before the reveal of the current projects). He said he would be, but its up to Sony. And they had chosen Judge because he had the stature AND voice to do the job.
So.... he probably already had been contacted to do this, but obviously could not say anything under NDA.
I liked T.C. Carson as Kratos a lot (and also a big fan of Living Single back in the day). But Chris Judge was also great. Carson was pure anger and very fitting for that era, as was Judge for the modern one. I'll never complain about either.I'll need to hear Carson now really go through the lines though and see how he does with classic Kratos.
It's a bit of a similar case for Metal Gear Solid. While I'm forever a Hayter fan and I didn't like Sutherland in the few moments he did speak, Sutherland as Big Boss/Venom Snake did have an "okay" transition voice between Hayter in MGS3 and Peace Walker, and Richard Doyle in MGS4. Both grossly outshined Sutherland, but I guess it has a slight hint of Hayter's gravel and some of the stern, tired and curt inflection of Doyle.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is proud to announce that Evan Wells, former Co-President of Naughty Dog and one of the most respected studio leaders in modern game development, will be honored with a prestigious Hall of Fame Award. Wells’ induction will take place at the 29th annual D.I.C.E. Awards on February 12, 2026, at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. Neil Druckmann, a longtime collaborator from Naughty Dog, will present Wells with his Hall of Fame Award live at the ceremony.
Naughty Dog all the way.
If only Valve could make games in under 8 years and weren't annoyingly secretive, they'd be number one
Kojima Productions.
naughtymonicadigital
Naughty Dog and usuallllly Insomniac although they haven't made anything impressive since Resistance 3.. Fuse looks generic as hell and the last 2 ratchet entries were very disappointing...but every Ratchet(before All 4 One), Spyro and Resistance game the've made have been AMAZING.