August 16th 2025.
As a avid gamer, I have noticed a concerning trend in the video game industry as of late. It seems that games are taking longer and longer to develop, with some taking six or more years to make. This not only affects the quality of the final product, but also limits the number of games that developers can release in a single console generation.
This issue brings to mind the question of whether or not developers should be diversifying their portfolios in order to avoid this problem. In this article, I will be discussing my top five picks for developers who I believe have not been utilizing their talents to the fullest extent.
First on my list is Bungie, who in the 2000s, would have easily been in the top five of any list of best developers. With their successful Halo series and the hit game Destiny, they seemed to be on top of the world. However, after a falling out with Activision and a sharp decline in Destiny 2, they have not been able to produce any other successful games. Despite talk of branching out into different genres, their only announced game, Marathon, seems to be dead on arrival.
Next up is Naughty Dog, who have been making the same game for nearly two decades now. While their games, such as Uncharted and The Last Of Us, may have different tones, they all play the same. The success of their games has trapped them into making sequels and remakes, rather than trying something new and inventive.
Rockstar Games is another developer that used to have a diverse portfolio but has now been reduced to just making GTA and Red Dead Redemption games. In their early days, they were known for games such as Smuggler's Run and Midnight Club, but now they seem to be stuck in a cycle of only making sequels to their hit games.
Hideo Kojima, although not in the same category as the others on this list, has also been stuck working on the same franchise for the majority of his career. Despite being a celebrated developer, his games, including the Metal Gear Solid series, have not been diverse. Even after breaking away from his company and creating his own studio, his latest game, Death Stranding, was a sequel that did not offer anything significantly different from his previous works.
Finally, there's Valve, the most disappointing of the bunch. Once one of the best video game developers in the world, they have now shifted their focus solely to running Steam and have not released a traditional single-player game since Portal in 2011. It's a waste of their expertise and a disappointment to fans who used to enjoy their hit games.
In conclusion, the problem with video games taking longer to make has resulted in some developers being limited to only producing one game per console generation. This not only affects the quality of games but also restricts the diversity of games being released. It's time for developers to start branching out and utilizing their talents in different genres, rather than getting stuck in a cycle of making the same game over and over again.
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