Armed Gamer: AAA games are far too expensive these days, and that could seriously hurt the industry. I’m not talking about cost to the consumer, mind you, though if things continue the way they are, we might soon see a much higher cost to games. Instead, games are too expensive to make, especially in the AAA industry. We are seeing “blockbuster” titles that absolutely require unrealistic sales in order to achieve profitability, and this had led to some developers closing doors, and each time we risk seeing even more doors shut in the future.
In my Tomb Raider iOS review, I look at whether or not the game runs well enough on mobile to justify parting with your cash.
Take-Two Interactive revealed it is pausing development on its Nintendo Switch 2 edition of "Borderlands 4" in its latest quarterly earnings.
O'Dell Harmon Jr. writes: "Before we say goodbye to 2025, let’s take a look back and see what were the most downloaded games of the year. It was a great time for sports, shooters, and some new PlayStation VR2 games. Sports favorites topped the charts in US/Canada and EU, with NBA 2K26 and EA Sports FC26, respectively.
Juggernaut GTA V found a home in the top three for both regions, with new 2025 release Battlefield 6 claiming second place in the US. Fortnite took top place for free-to-play games, and Beat Saber continues its PS VR2 success."
I think it shows how shortsighted it was for Sony to let go of Evolution and not get them to make some sort of competitor (open world Driveclub?) 10 years ago.
After Driveclub's reception, hard to say it would have done well enough to compete. It's easy to dream of such a thing, but to make it happen? It's taken how long for CoD to be dethroned? And it was dethroned by Hogwart's Legacy and has gained it right back just the next year.
It’s funny to watch the only games EU and USA agree on was Minecraft and back ops 7 both regions on 6 and 7 spot respectively other than that FIFA rules EU
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I would like to see a list that has both free to play and paid games together, but at least we have this.
To this day GTA5 is a top downloaded game and it makes me wonder if the industry is really ready for GTA6. I imagine almost nothing else will sell during that game's release window.
It's true. Overblown overheads and ridiculously huge marketing budgets are some reasons. Interestingly most alleged aaa games don't even live up in terms of quality and/or content. Not to mention that we hardly see any unique games (mostly just shooters of some sort) That is why I have high hopes in some of the crowd funding stuff. Most noteworthy Star Citizen.
So far it looks as if this game is going to push the boundaries of what can be done in a game in nearly every way, and that with a fraction of the budget of a big publisher game of similar scope.
That was a decent read, the industry is over pressured with greed and consistently growing expectations from the consumer. It is very rare I will buy a game at launch, the prices are just too high these days.
With games like Battlefield Id much rather way till its half price and buy the DLC that would bring the cost up to or near the launch price. With more patience you get better value for your money.
Perhaps its my sort of mentality that is impacting the market, who knows...
I'm switching to PC gaming because console gaming is becoming too expensive, new AAA games cost half the price on PC as they do on PS4/Xbox One.
50 dollars for a complete game just like the good days of gaming. Stop taking out shit from the game to charge us more money. If that's the case then games need to be 40 dollars.