Reality Check: Game Legends Reckon This 'Crash' Is Deeper Than the '80s Black Hole
AI Gaming News Author · kotaku ·
Gaming legends Brenda and John Romero – the brains behind classics like `Wizardry` and `Doom` – have declared the current state of the games industry to be 'crashier' than the infamous 1983 collapse. They highlight mass layoffs, exorbitant AAA development costs, and the baffling reality of studios laying off staff even after creating best-selling games, pointing to a deeper, more insidious problem than just market failure.
Right, mate, settle in, because I've been poring over a recent chat shared by Kotaku, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than I thought. We're talking about none other than Brenda and John Romero – yeah, *those* Romeros. The folks who essentially wrote the spells for modern gaming, from `Wizardry` to `Doom`, who’ve seen more industry shifts than a chameleon on a disco ball. When these two speak, you listen, because they’ve been in the trenches since pixel art was cutting-edge technology.
And what they’re saying? It’s not just a bit grim; it’s like discovering your latest enchantment went catastrophically sideways. They reckon the current state of the games industry is actually *worse* than the infamous video game crash of 1983. Yeah, you heard that right. Worse than the one that nearly wiped us off the digital map.
Now, for those who weren’t around when Atari was king and ET was a cautionary tale, the 1983 crash was a proper gut-punch. Revenue plummeted by an astonishing 97 percent – think about that for a second! It felt like the end, the big Game Over screen for video games as a viable market. Then, like a phoenix rising from a pile of bargain bin cartridges, Nintendo showed up with the NES, and the rest is history, as they say. A clean slate, a fresh start, a definitive 'before and after' moment.
But Brenda Romero, who's been pushing pixels and crafting narratives since the '80s, put it pretty bluntly to GI.biz: “I feel like the industry’s in a really horrible place… we were there in the ’80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier.” And John, the FPS wizard himself, backed her up. It’s not just hyperbole; it’s an observation from two people who’ve navigated these treacherous waters for decades.
So, what gives? We're not seeing a 97 percent revenue drop, thankfully. No, this 'crash' feels different. It’s a slow, creeping rot, a digital plague, rather than a sudden explosion. It’s a paradox wrapped in an enigma: an industry pulling in billions, seeing record-breaking sales, yet simultaneously shedding jobs, shuttering studios, and cancelling projects at an alarming rate. It's like finding a rare loot drop, only to realise it’s cursed and drains your health every second.
Brenda pointed out the deeply personal impact, recalling how Romero Games, their own studio, went from 110 employees down to a mere nine after Xbox abruptly pulled funding – at the same time Microsoft was laying off thousands. That’s not just a business decision, mate; that’s someone’s livelihood, their passion, vanishing into thin air. “There are so few people that have not been affected,” she mused, “or their partners affected, or they’re worried about being affected. It’s a really difficult time right now.” It’s a human story behind every one of those numbers, every 'restructuring' announcement.
And here’s where my brain starts short-circuiting: John Romero brought up `Battlefield 6`. You know, the *best-selling game of 2025*. And even that, a massive commercial success, saw layoffs across multiple studios that worked on it. Bloody hell! How does that even compute? It's like successfully casting a mega-damage spell, but then it backfires and takes out your whole party anyway. What kind of arcane corporate logic dictates that success leads to unemployment? It truly makes you wonder what metrics these massive publishers are actually chasing, if not profitability for the teams making the games.
This is where the distinction from the '80s really crystallises. Back then, games weren't selling. It was a market collapse. Now? Games are selling like hot cakes, but the sheer cost of making a AAA title has skyrocketed past the $300 million mark. That’s a truly staggering amount of gold to invest in a single project, making every release an unbelievably high-stakes gamble. The industry has become a high-roller's casino, where even hitting the jackpot doesn't guarantee security for the folk who built the table.
It speaks volumes about the chase for infinite growth, the endless pursuit of 'shareholder value' that often seems detached from the actual value created by the developers. It's not enough to be a massive hit; you have to be *the biggest* hit, with 'evergreen' monetisation models and 'live service' hooks, or else. And if you’re not? Well, then the axe falls, regardless of critical acclaim or even decent sales figures.
So, how do we dig ourselves out of this mess? Brenda herself admitted, “This is really one of those times where I don’t know.” And honestly, that’s a humbling thought coming from someone with her pedigree. But there’s a flicker of that characteristic gamer resilience, that optimistic chaos, even in her philosophical outlook: “I know we’re going to be OK for the next little bit… And if something falls over sideways, and 2027 is another ‘exciting’ year, we’ve both had a good run.”
It’s a stark reminder that while the titans of the industry might be playing a dangerous game of financial Jenga, the true heart of gaming – the passion, the creativity, the sheer joy of building and playing – endures. Perhaps this difficult period will force a re-evaluation, a shift towards more sustainable development, or highlight the brilliance of agile, indie studios who are already making magic with less. We’ve survived digital apocalypses before, and with legends like the Romeros still observing the tea leaves, maybe, just maybe, we can brew a better future.
Based on original reporting by John Walker for Kotaku.
Tags: Gaming Industry, Game Development, Layoffs, John Romero, Brenda Romero
Original article: kotaku